Diamondcorp's South African Lace diamond mine re-opens

Miner Diamondcorp’s Lace diamond mine in the Free State Province in South Africa successfully restarted in July and is producing 30,000 tonnes per month.

The AIM-listed company said August was the first month of commercial production and processing of kimberlite for the month averaging at 31 carats per hundred tonnes, which is line with forecasts.

A good proportion of clean sawable stones was found in all size fractions, including type 2A diamonds.

The company's diamond sales will start in Antwerp, the Netherlands, at the end of August and then every month for the rest of the year.

The sale is expected to be about 7,000 carats, which the company said is slightly lower than forecast due to sale of parcels in Johannesburg during the export process in June and the shutdown of operations in July due to the fall of ground accident.

Sales are now forecast to be between 9,000 to 12,000 carats, depending on monthly grade fluctuations.

Shares in Diamondcorp were up 5.2% to 6.57p at 1404 BST.