Gem Diamonds recovers 98 ct diamond at Letšeng

JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – LSE-listed Gem Diamonds on Tuesday reported recovering a 98.42 ct high-quality D-colour Type II diamond at its 70%-owned Letšeng mine, in Lesotho.

CEO Clifford Elphick commented that it had recovered 25 479 ct of diamonds at Letšeng at a grade of 1.53 carats per hundred tonnes (cpht), against an expected reserve grade of 1.61 cpht.

Further, he pointed out that, during April and May, there had been an even more notable improvement in the size and quality of diamonds recovered at the operation, with an 80.58 ct D-colour Type II diamond also recovered.

Both these diamonds will be sold in June.

For the March quarter, Gem sold 39 950 ct at an average price of $1 636/ct for the first three tenders. Eleven diamonds were sold for more than $1-million each, generating revenue of $20.4-million.

“The market for Letšeng's high-quality diamonds has remained firm over the period and this is anticipated to continue into the second half of this year. In addition, the revised life-of-mine plan was implemented during February with the objective of reducing waste tonnes mined and improving near term cash flows, and we expect to see the benefits emerge during the year ahead,” said Elphick.