PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Diamond miner Kimberley Diamonds has secured A$3-million in debt financing from China’s Zhejiang Huitong Auction to refurbish and recommission the Lerala mine, in Botswana, and to fund ongoing operating costs.
The miner said on Monday that the funds would be provided under an existing loan agreement with Zhejiang, bringing the total funding to A$13-million.
The loan was repayable in May 2017 and would have an interest rate of 5% a year.
Diamond production from Lerala was expected to start in February and, once in production, the mine was forecast to have a life of some seven years, treating 1.4-million tonnes of ore a year and producing an average of 357 000 ct/y.
Kimberley noted that the refurbishment and recommissioning work continued to make good progress, with all orders for long-lead items already placed.
A geotechnical review had also been conducted on the early production pits and preliminary recommendations on pit slope angles and bench-height configurations had been made. These would be used in an updated mine planning and optimisation exercise, which would start in mid-October.
Edited by: Chanel de Bruyn
Creamer Media Senior Deputy Editor Online
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