Image credit: BlueRock Diamonds
It said proceeds from the placing will be mainly used to complete the expansion project at its Kareevlei mine, in South Africa to increase annual production to about 1 million tonnes per annum by the early second quarter of 2021.
The funds will also provide working capital to cushion against further disruption which has arisen due to excessive rain and Covid-19.
"The need for further funding is frustrating but sadly unavoidable given the extreme weather conditions from mid- December to end-January and the lower sales prices that we experienced in Q4 2020 due to the absence of competitive tenders in South Africa," BlueRock executive chairperson Mike Houston.
"The rains, resulting in 29 production days being lost, had a similar impact on the project, delaying the completion of the crushing circuit and ongoing development of the processing side of the new plant."
A new crushing circuit is now operating at expected levels.
Meanwhile, Houston said despite reduced production expectations in the first quarter of 2021, the company had not changed the bottom end of the range of its guidance for the year, which remains at 34,000 carats at a price of more than $330 per carat.
He said BlueRock had also reintroduced monthly local tenders with strong international participation and it was encouraged with the achieved average price of $423 per carat for the first two tenders of 2021.
Mathew Nyaungwa, Editor in Chief of the African Bureau, Rough&Polished
