Firestone Diamonds said it is targeting to commence
production at its Liqhobong mine, in Lesotho at the end of the second quarter
of 2016.
It said in a statement emailed to Rough & Polished that
construction, which started last June following completion of the project
financing the previous month, was expected to take 24 months.
Construction work included the new 500 tonne per hour main
treatment plant and supporting infrastructure to treat 3.6 million tonnes of
ore and recover more than 1 million carats per year.
Firestone said it had now secured all major contracts and
placed orders for all long lead items.
“To date the project
is progressing well and is on time and on budget, with the pilot plant having
now been removed and the earthworks progressing on schedule,” it said.
“Fortunately the winter season was mild, with no snow, which
allowed the project team to progress certain work streams ahead of schedule, in
advance of the rainy season, which commenced in late October.”
The provision of electrical infrastructure to connect the
mine to grid power was also progressing as planned, it said.
The total project cost was R165 million ($15 million) with
Firestone funding R145 million ($13.2 million) with the balance, R20 million
($1.8 million), being funded by the local company engaged to construct the
power infrastructure.
The company said it had so far spent about R400 million
($36.3 million) on the project.
Mathew Nyaungwa, Editor in Chief of the African Bureau,
Rough&Polished
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