Bluerock Diamonds records strong diamond sales

BlueRock Diamonds, the operator of the Kareevlei Diamond Mine in the Kimberley region of South Africa, has announced an increase to average diamond grades, while continuing to explore options for additional financing.

A parcel of 330 diamond carats sold at tender in July achieved an average of $395 per carat, and resulted in a small increase to Kareevlei's average diamond grade from 1.6 carats per hundred tons to 1.7 cpht.

Additionally, the company touted that it continued to grow with tonnage for July expected to be around 20,000 tonnes, a marked increase of over 35% on the production of 14,427 tonnes achieved for June 2017, edging towards the company's target monthly production of 25,000 tonnes for the fourth quarter of 2017.

BlueRock also said it was still exploring options for providing additional financing to fund its operations while it enhanced development at the Kareevlei mine.

Adam Waugh, chief executive officer, 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."