Rockwell content with diamond prices

[miningmx.com] — ROCKWELL Diamonds said on Tuesday it achieved good prices for the sales of its diamond production for the period mid-August to mid-September 2010.

Out of a total of 5,294.55 carats sold, 58 stones exceeded 10 carats and four were larger than 50 carats.

Rockwell operates the Holpan and Klipdam mines north of Kimberley, as well as the Saxendrift mine on the Middle Orange River (MOR) southwest of Kimberley.

The company is conducting a bulk sampling project on alluvial deposits at the Klipdam Extension property, located to the east of its Klipdam operation.

All of these operations, and the Wouterspan project which is on care and maintenance, are located in the Northern Cape.

During the period, Rockwell recovered four plus-50 carat stones at Saxendrift and Klipdam.

In the diamond trade, these would be referred to as sawable stones – stones from which more than one cut diamond could be derived.

At Saxendrift it recovered a 74.43-carat clean, off-white, rounded, octahedral stone and at Klipdam a 79.13-carat white stone with inclusions of irregular blocky shapes.

Following cleaning and valuation, all of these stones were sold into Rockwell’s joint venture agreement with Steinmetz Diamond Group.

Once beneficiated and sold as polished goods, they will provide additional profit share revenue to the company.

Sales for the two month production period included 4,495.48 carats of diamonds from the Saxendrift, Klipdam and Holpan operations, and 799.07 carats from the Klipdam Extension bulk sampling project, for a total of 5,294.55 carats.

The diamonds sold were of excellent quality. The recovery of stones larger than 50 carats so far this year is ahead of statistical predictions, Rockwell said.

The high average dollar per carat value for Klipdam production was ahead of expectations, while the average value for Saxendrift production was slightly below expectations.

The average price of the diamonds recovered from the Klipdam Extension bulk sampling project was also higher than the forecast value of $800 per carat.

Rockwell noted that the rough diamond market has continued to show resilience in the calendar year to date. Prices of larger, good quality stones have held up particularly well through the year, with increases in clean goods of greater than 10 carats.

Prices for smaller diamonds or Indian goods have softened towards the year end. Polished prices have continued to show small increases through the year.

President and CEO John Bristow commented: “Results from the latest Rockwell diamond sales reinforce the resilience of the diamond market which has continued to show signs of steady recovery since the sharp downturn of early 2009.

“The strong production and average price from the Klipdam operation was most positive, and reflects an overall improvement in mining and plant efficiencies. The commissioning of the Saxendrift in-pit screening unit is also on target and will help compensate for the impact of the higher sand content in the gravel deposit and, moving forward, reduce operating costs.”