Proactiveinvestors recommends
Stocktube video
06/06/2011

Tim Wilkes at Firestone Diamonds says margins have grown substantially

View full size
Additional Information
Market: AIM
Sector: General Mining - Diamonds & Gemstones
EPIC: FDI
Latest Price: 5.75p  (-2.21% Descending)
52-week High: 32.75p
52-week Low: 5.38p
Market Cap: 31.37M
1 year chart
digital-look imported chart image
1 day chart
digital-look imported chart image
Watchlist/Portfolio

Add to watchlist:

Only registered members can add into watchlist !

Register here !
Firestone Diamonds
www.firestonediamonds.com

Firestone is a UK-based diamond mining and development company with assets located in Botswana and Lesotho. Firestone also controls a substantial portfolio of diamond exploration and development projects in the Orapa, Jwaneng and Tsabong regions of Botswana.

Full Firestone Diamonds profile here
Is FDI a Buy, Sell or Hold?Get your FREE analysis of FDI
Pdf

Firestone Diamonds says recent diamond sales confirm continued strong demand

7th Feb 2012, 8:25 am by Andre Lamberti Firestone sold all the diamonds in the tender last week, and it plans to hold its next tender in mid-March 2012

Firestone Diamonds (LON:FDI) said the first diamond tender this year held last Friday was very well attended and the prices received for the higher quality stones indicate continued strong demand.

All of the diamonds were sold, and the company plans to hold its next diamond tender in mid March 2012.

Firestone issued an operations update today, in which it said it is continuing to make good progress at the Liqhobong mine in Lesotho.

Mining is now concentrated exclusively on the Main pipe. The current mine plan is focused on extracting maximum value out of mining the K4 and K5 kimberlites and all indications are that these are the areas producing the bigger and better quality diamonds.

The K5 unit is the highest grade geological unit in the Main Pipe resource, with an average resource grade of 45 carats per hundred tonnes (cpht) compared to the average resource grade of 28 cpht for the K2 and K4 kimberlite units that have been mined to date.

As the K5 unit will be the primary focus for mining operations for the next two years, this bodes well for continued increases in production and diamond prices from Liqhobong, Firestone said.

It is continuing to improve the operation of the Plant No 1, which has already increased the grades above target. It is currently working on changes to the plant which over the coming weeks are expected to significantly reduce diamond damage and breakage which has been occurring lately with larger stones.

The definitive feasibility study for Plant No 2 is on track for completion in June. It is scheduled to start operating in 2013.

Meanwhile, at the BK11 mine in Botswana, the technical problems with the secondary crushing circuit of the plant there continue.  These problems are being addressed whilst management considers a number of strategic options on the way forward for this project.

Chief executive Tim Wilkes said: "We are very pleased with the performance of the plant at Liqhobong over the past 2 months. We are implementing a programme of continued improvement and enhancement to maximize the recovery of diamonds and we are confident that we will see positive results over the coming weeks.”

“Our recent diamond tender was very well attended and the prices we received for the higher quality stones indicate continued strong demand, whilst the near gem and smalls remain under pressure. We remain cautiously optimistic for the months ahead," he added.

Firestone will update investors on the diamond sales and mine production data for the first quarter of 2012 in April.

No investment advice

The Company is a publisher and is not registered with or authorised by the Financial Services Authority (FSA). You understand and agree that no content published on the Site constitutes a recommendation that any particular security, portfolio of securities, transaction, or investment strategy is suitable or advisable for any specific person. You further understand that none of the information providers or their affiliates will advise you personally concerning the nature, potential, advisability, value or suitability of any particular security, portfolio of securities, transaction, investment strategy, or other matter.

You understand that the Site may contain opinions from time to time with regard to securities mentioned in other products, including company related products, and that those opinions may be different from those obtained by using another product related to the Company. You understand and agree that contributors may write about securities in which they or their firms have a position, and that they may trade such securities for their own account. In cases where the position is held at the time of publication and such position is known to the Company, appropriate disclosure is made. However, you understand and agree that at the time of any transaction that you make, one or more contributors may have a position in the securities written about. You understand that price and other data is supplied by sources believed to be reliable, that the calculations herein are made using such data, and that neither such data nor such calculations are guaranteed by these sources, the Company, the information providers or any other person or entity, and may not be complete or accurate.

From time to time, reference may be made in our marketing materials to prior articles and opinions we have published. These references may be selective, may reference only a portion of an article or recommendation, and are likely not to be current. As markets change continuously, previously published information and data may not be current and should not be relied upon.