23 Nov 2021 07:00
BlueRock Diamonds PLC / AIM: BRD / Sector: Natural Resources
23 November 2021
BlueRock Diamonds PLC ('BlueRock' or the 'Company')
Update
BlueRock Diamonds PLC, the AIM listed diamond producer, is pleased to announce that further to the announcement of 19 November 2021 and following further discussions with the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (the 'DMRE'), mining activities at its Kareevlei Diamond Mine ('Kareevlei') in the Kimberley region of South Africa have resumed.
The Company is also pleased to report that commissioning of the new plant designed to increase production to 1 million tonnes per annum and carats produced to between 40,000 and 43,000 carats per annum is progressing well, with the crushing circuit and Line 1 fully operational and achieving design capacity. The old plant was closed last week and the two pans, as planned, have been refurbished and fitted to Line 2. Management will start feeding ore to Line 2 this week and start ramping up to full production shortly thereafter.
BlueRock Executive Chairman, Mike Houston, said, "We are confident that given the experience of commissioning Line 1, commissioning Line 2 should be relatively straightforward, which should enable us to fast track to full production. Pleasingly, the mine had, prior to the short suspension of mining activities, been building up stocks of crushed ore and will resume doing so until early December when Line 2 is expected to be fully operational; these stocks will help sustain production as we move into the rainy season and position us to deliver on the lower end of our 2021 production guidance of 22,000 to 26,000 carats (2020: 15,371 carats).
"We were disappointed to be issued with the Section 54 notice and the time it took to resolve the issues raised. However, as management, we appreciate the guidance given by the DMRE. We are now looking at how best to manage the working capital impact of the lost production."
The information contained within this announcement is deemed by the Company to constitute inside information as stipulated under the Market Abuse Regulations (EU) No. 596/2014 as it forms part of UK domestic law by virtue of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 ('MAR'). Upon the publication of this announcement via Regulatory Information Service ('RIS'), this inside information is now considered to be in the public domain.
**ENDS**
For further information, please visit BRD's website www.bluerockdiamonds.co.uk or contact:
BlueRock Diamonds PLC Mike Houston David Facey, FD |
mhouston@bluerockdiamonds.co.uk d.facey@bluerockdiamonds.co.uk |
SP Angel (NOMAD and Broker) Stuart Gledhill / Caroline Rowe |
Tel: +44 (0)20 3470 0470 |
St Brides Partners Ltd (Financial PR) Isabel de Salis / Susie Geliher |
bluerock@stbridespartners.co.uk |
Notes to editors:
BlueRock Diamonds is an AIM-listed diamond producer which operates the Kareevlei Diamond Mine near Kimberley in South Africa which produces diamonds of exceptional quality and ranks in the top ten in the world in terms of average value per carat. The Kareevlei licence area covers 3,000 hectares and hosts five known diamondiferous kimberlite pipes with a combined inferred resource of 10.4 million tonnes / 516,200 carats (February 2021); based on its planned production of 1 million tonnes per annum, this provides a minimum 10-year life of mine.