26 Jul 2017 07:00
26 July 2017
BlueRock Diamonds PLC
("BlueRock" or the "Company" or "BRD")
Diamond Sales and Production Update
BlueRock Diamonds plc, the AIM listed diamond mining company, which owns and operates the Kareevlei Diamond Mine in the Kimberley region of South Africa ("Kareevlei"), announces an update on its July 2017 diamond sales tender and production.
In July 2017, a parcel of 330 carats was sold at tender, achieving an average of $395 per carat. The diamonds produced and included in July's sales tender has resulted in a small increase to Kareevlei's average diamond grade achieved during 2017 from 1.6cpht to 1.7cpht.
The Board also announces that production has continued to improve with total tonnage for July expected to be c.20,000 tonnes, an increase of over 35% on the production of 14,427 tonnes achieved for June 2017. It is the Company's target to achieve monthly production of 25,000 tonnes during Q4 2017.
As noted previously the Company is currently exploring options for providing additional financing in order to fund its operations while it further develops the Kareevlei mine and further announcements will be made in due course.
Adam Waugh, Chief Executive Officer of BlueRock Diamonds, commented: "We are pleased to have achieved $395 per carat in the July tender, including our highest dollar per carat valuation to date of $7,054 for a 5.5 carat diamond. It is particularly pleasing to be achieving such a high average value for our production without relying on large diamonds.
"We are encouraged by the increase in monthly production, following the mine, plant and design optimisation work undertaken this year, as we approach our target of 25,000 tonnes per month. As we move into deeper ground in line with our mine plan, following the final blast of upper level Kimberlite in early August, we expect grades to continue to improve. In the meantime we intend to provide further updates on the funding of our operations and developments as we progress towards operational profitability in due course."
For further information, please contact:
BlueRock Diamonds plc Adam Waugh, CEO |
awaugh@bluerockdiamonds.co.uk
|
SP Angel (NOMAD and Broker) Stuart Gledhill Lindsay Mair
| +44 (0)20 3470 0470
|
Yellow Jersey (PR and IR) Felicity Winkles Joe Burgess Katie Bairsto | +44 (0) 7769 325254
|
About BlueRock Diamonds plc (AIM: BRD)
BlueRock is a diamond mining company with activities in the Kimberley region of South Africa. BlueRock own a diamond processing plant and the mining right over the Kareevlei Tenements in South Africa.