TSX-V-listed Diamcor sold 2 979 ct of rough diamonds for $653 652 in its November tender.
That equates to an average price of $218/ct.
The diamonds were recovered from resumed processing exercises at the company’s Krone-Endora at Venetia project, in South Africa’s Limpopo province.
Most of the material processed comprised smaller size fractions, in addition to a low percentage of larger higher-grade stockpiled basal material processed, in conjunction with the initial incorporation of processing of all size fractions through the project’s recently refined crushing circuit.
A further 2 312 ct of rough diamonds were delivered before the end of November and will be offered in a final tender in December.
Diamcor CEO Dean Taylor said the company is pleased with the quality and value of the Venetia project’s rough diamonds and the company’s efforts have shifted to increasing the volume of material processed, and the inclusion of all size fractions up to 40 mm moving forward.
“Initial processing of material in all size fractions has met company expectations and we look forward to the potential that the processing and incorporation of the larger material may have on our overall dollar per carat and the potential recovery of any larger rough diamonds,” he added.
Completed revisions to the crushing and screening systems at the in-field screening plant were aimed at the improved liberation and removal of fines through added crushing to support increasing volumes and allow for the inclusion of all size fractions up to 40 mm in the long term.
An additional 30 t/h dense media separation plant was incorporated into the project’s large diamond recovery circuit to provide greater efficiencies and added processing capacity, and this item is now operational.
The majority of material previously being processed at the project comprised material under 15 mm in size, with material above that size fraction being stockpiled.
Given that much of this larger material comprises calcretised balls of higher-grade basal material, the crushing, treatment and inclusion of this material in the 15 mm to 40 mm size fractions has the potential to have a positive impact on the overall size frequency distribution of the rough diamonds recovered, while also providing the company with the potential to recover any larger diamonds from the project.