Stellar Diamonds said the addition of the Baoulé kimberlite, in Guinea to its portfolio is an “exciting” development as the diamondiferous pipe offers significant potential in the form of a large diamond resource with high diamond values.
Company chief executive Karl Smithson said in a statement that they expect to have defined a 3 million carat resource at Baoulé.
“Having already delivered on several significant milestones during 2013, we look forward to the year ahead as we aim to further unlock the potential and advance towards our goal of becoming a diamond producer in West Africa," he said.
Stellar said it was planning to deliver a maiden diamond resource on the kimberlite pipe project by the end of 2014.
Historical data pointed to a potential multimillion-carat resource at “substantially high diamond values”, it said.
Meanwhile, Stellar chairperson Lord Daresbury said work was initiated towards the delivery of a definitive feasibility study with the commencement of a bulk sampling programme in September 2013, targeting a diamond parcel of up to 1,000 carats for enhanced diamond value modelling. “We are confident that we will see an increase in the $248 per carat value, taking into account the recovery of diamond prices since the financial crisis,” he said.
“In October 2013, we blasted the first of our Dyke-1 ore to be processed via our on-site 5tph DMS plant with a view to exporting the diamond parcels to Antwerp for valuation.”
Daresbury said their plan for 2014 was to conduct further drilling to increase the current resource of 1.1 million carats to over 1.5 million carats.
Mathew Nyaungwa, Editor in Chief of the African Bureau, Rough&Polished
