Gem Diamonds: Market For Letseng Diamonds Was Solid In Q3
October 30, 17
(IDEX Online) – Gem Diamonds Limited reports that the market for high-quality diamonds from its Letšeng mine in Lesotho remained firm for the quarter ending September 30, with the July tender achieving nearly $2,400 per carat and carats recovered up 23 percent on the prior quarter.
The miner recovered 30,774 carats during the quarter, up 23 percent from 24,999 carats in Q2 2017. It achieved an average price of $2,397 per carat for the July tender, making it the highest achieved for a tender since September 2015.
It posted an average price of $1,858 per carat for the period, up 4 percent from $1,779 per carat in H1 2017.
The mining company said that as part of its strategic focus on reducing diamond breakage, it has been working in collaboration with leading experts from the University of Johannesburg for the deployment of innovative technologies. These technologies are designed to reduce breakages through identifying diamonds within the kimberlite prior to the crushing process and freeing diamonds through electrical pulse technologies.
The group-wide efficiency and cost reduction review is progressing well and has already identified annual and once off cost savings of US$ 20 million, which is an increase of US$ 5 million over the figure announced at the time of our interim results. In addition, a number of innovative diamond identification and liberation technology initiatives are being actively pursued and I look forward to updating the market on further progress during Q4."