Rockwell Diamonds Inc. has announced the recent recovery of several large (50 carats and above) stones from its Holpan, Klipdam and Saxendrift mines.
Rockwell has alluvial diamonds operations in Northern Cape Province in South Africa: the Holpan and Klipdam mines are located north of Kimberley, and the Saxendrift mine is on the Middle Orange River (“MOR”) southwest of Kimberley. The Company is also conducting a bulk sampling project at Klipdam Extension east of the Klipdam mine. The Wouterspan mine, also located on the MOR, is currently on care and maintenance. In addition, the Company is in the process of acquiring the Tirisano operation located in the well-known Ventersdorp alluvial diamond district in South Africa’s North West Province from Etruscan Diamonds Limited.
Five Large Diamonds
During what is effectively the second quarter of fiscal 2011 (which ends August 31, 2010), Rockwell has recovered five large gemstones from its Holpan, Klipdam and Saxendrift operations, bringing the total number of plus 50-carat stones recovered in its current fiscal year to eleven.
At Holpan, a 136-carat clean white (colour H to I), broken octahedral stone was recovered.
At Klipdam, a 69.26-carat pinkish stone with a brown overtone and a blocky shape was produced.
At Saxendrift, three stones – one 58-carat, one 82-carat and one 104-carat – were recovered from mining operations:
the 58.20-carat stone is a white diamond of octahedral shape with a mackle or twin line running through it;
the 81.29-carat stone is a fancy yellow with rounded octahedral shape and no inclusions; and
the 104.03-carat stone is a clean Cape yellow, which shows a typical well formed octahedral shape.
These large stones are currently undergoing cleaning and valuation by the Company experts. Thereafter, they are likely to be sold into Rockwell’s joint venture with Steinmetz Diamond Group and, once manufactured and sold as polished goods, will provide additional profit share revenue to the Company.
Comparison of Large Diamond Recoveries in Calendar 2009 and 2010
Over the full 2009 calendar year, Rockwell recovered 12 plus 50-carat stones whereas in over the seven months of 2010, the Company has already recovered 11 stones of larger than 50 carats.
President and CEO John Bristow commented, “The regular recovery of large diamonds of exceptional quality and size is a hall mark of Rockwell’s unique diamond production. In the current calendar year, Rockwell has recovered a mix of excellent quality large diamonds across its operating mines, with Saxendrift once again showing its importance to the Company by yielding seven out of the 11 large gemstones recovered so far.”
Related posts:
- Rockwell Recovers Large Stones From Holpan and Saxendrift
- Rockwell Recovers Additional Exceptional Stones From Saxendrift
- Rockwell Diamonds Says 5,334 carats were produced at the Tirisano, Klipdam and Saxendrift operations and 5,376 carats were sold at an average price of US$1,109 per carat
- Rockwell Diamonds Produces 373 carats of Diamonds in one day at Saxendrift
- Rockwell Achieves US$1,434 per Carat for Latest Diamond Sale
