BlueRock Diamonds is expected to complete the expansion project at its Kareevlei diamond mine in South Africa in August.
The AIM-listed diamond producer will lift its operations to full production capacity allowing it to have full-year output guidance of between 30,000 and 39,000 carats.
“We are expecting to start commissioning of the west side of the new plant shortly and once complete we are targeting annual production of 1 million tonnes and hope that we will be able to exceed this,” it said.
“The increased tonnages will provide the economies of scale to turn Kareevlei into a highly cash generative asset.”
BlueRock chairperson Michael Houston said its annual run rate revenues are projected to double to more than $16 million by the end of the year, while the per-unit cost will be reduced to [about] $220 per carat, thereby providing a healthy margin compared with its average sale price for 2019 of $415 and the first five months of 2021 of US$424 per carat.
Mathew Nyaungwa, Editor in Chief of the African Bureau, Rough&Polished
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