Stellar recovers ‘large diamonds’ from Guinea bulk sampling

Stellar Diamonds has recovered “large diamonds” from the phase-1 bulk sampling programme at its Droujba kimberlite pipe, in Guinea.
It said in a statement emailed to Rough & Polished that 268.45 carats had been recovered to date, including stones of 13.8ct, 6.06ct, 3.75ct and 2.9ct
"The first two bulk sample results are very encouraging, with an initial grade of 60cpht being realised from initial processing, which is consistent with the expectation of high grade,” said Stellar chief executive Karl Smithson.
“Additionally, the recovery of a number of large stones, including a 13.8 carat and a 6.06 carat stone, from a relatively small parcel of 268 carats of diamonds, suggests a coarse size distribution to the diamond population.”
He said sample processing was progressing “well” with full results expected next month.
Stellar said its observation suggested that the gem and near gem category comprised about 18 percent and 15 percent of the recovered diamond population respectively, with rejection and boart stones comprising 66 percent and 1 percent correspondingly.

Mathew Nyaungwa, Editor in Chief of the African Bureau, Rough&Polished