The management of BlueRock Diamonds decided to restrict operations at Kareevlei until the 3rd of January 2022 due to an outbreak of COVID-19 infections among personnel, the company said in an update announced on Wednesday.
BlueRock Diamonds said there were 24 reported cases of COVID-19 amongst the Kareevlei workforce and circa 50% of the employees did not report for work due to them having contact with affected employees. In all cases reported so far, no employees have experienced serious symptoms.
“Given the company’s key priority is the safety and wellbeing of its employees and their families, it has been decided to restrict operations at Kareevlei until the 3rd of January 2022. Provided that the situation does not worsen, it is intended to continue to process the stockpile of crushed ore during this period but no mining or crushing activities will take place. It is hoped that the closure will act as a circuit breaker and that full operations will restart on 3rd of January 2022 although it is not possible to predict how the pandemic will impact the company’s workforce over the coming weeks,” the diamond miner’s statement said.
According to the company, the potential impact of restricting operations on its near term cashflow has been offset to some degree by a successful private sale of a small parcel of diamonds for a total USD545,000 at an average price of USD380 per carat, which included a high value 11.2 carat stone sold for USD97,000.
Mike Houston Chairman said, “Restricting mining and crushing activities at Kareevlei is a difficult but unfortunately necessary and enforced step that we have decided to take as the health and safety of our employees is our top priority. The closure comes at a very unwelcome time as both lines are now operational, and management has been focusing on ramping up production. The Company expects to report on full year production during the middle of January where, as previously noted, the Company will be reporting 2021 production ahead of the lower end of its full year production guidance. We will continue to assess the impact of the pandemic on our operations as we move into 2022 and will report further as and when events unfold.”
Vladimir Malakhov, Rough&Polished
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