BlueRock Diamonds PLC (LON:BRD) has released an updated report on the inferred mineral resource for the Kareevlei kimberlite cluster at its mine in South Africa.
A report from Z Star Mineral Resource Consultants, commissioned by the firm, updates a 2013 report on the Kareevlei kimberlite cluster, which includes the KV1, KV2, and KV3 pipes at the site.
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BlueRock said the primary changes in the new report included the addition of a portion of the KV5 pipe to the mineral resource as well as amendments to the KV2 and KV3 geological models and the depletion of the mined portion of the KV2 resource.
The net effect of these amendments was a 3% reduction in tonnes at the cluster (taking into account tonnes already mined), as well as a 2.2% increase in carats and a 5.4% increase in grade.
These updates take the total tonnes at the Kareevlei kimberlite cluster to 7.74mln tonnes with a grade of 4.7 carats per hundred tonnes and 367,000 contained carats.
Adam Waugh, BlueRock's chief executive, said since the firm began operations at Kareevlei in 2014 it had only mined 3% of the inferred resource, and now had 2.2% more carats that was initially reported in a 2013 estimate.
“This demonstrates the extremely early stage nature of operations at Kareevlei and the significant upside that remains at our five known kimberlite pipes. KV5 now forms part of our Inferred Resource Statement and our trial mining last year showed that this pipe produces larger, higher value diamonds with an initial estimate of US$411 per carat, so we look forward to unlocking the further value going forward", he added.
In late-afternoon trading Tuesday, BlueRock shares were at 0.34p.