Stellar Diamonds PLC (LON:STEL) announced that the first parcel of diamonds exported from the Tongo kimberlite dyke Project in Sierra Leone, consisting of 639 carats, was valued at an average price of US$191 per carat.
The average grade of the kimberlite from the bulk sampling to date is over 109 carats per hundred tonnes which suggests a potential in-situ value of the kimberlite ore body of US$209 per tonne, which would make Tongo one of the highest value kimberlites globally on a per tonne of rock basis.
Chief Executive Karl Smithson said: "The valuation of the first parcel of diamonds exported from Tongo is excellent at US$191 per carat. Considering that there were no large stones in this parcel this bodes well for any future run of mine diamond values.
The phase-1 surface bulk sampling programme is more than 80 percent completed, and next month, Stellar will begin a 6,000 metres drilling programme with the objective of defining an initial inferred resource on Dyke 1 to a depth of at least 200 metres.
Stellar is a diamond mining and exploration company focused on West Africa. Stellar owns a 100 percent interest in four high-grade kimberlite projects.
In Guinea resource definition drilling is continuing on the diamondiferous Droujba kimberlite pipe and bulk sampling is underway on the high grade Bouro kimberlite dyke which is adjacent to the company's Mandala alluvial diamond mine.
In Sierra Leone at Tongo a bulk sampling programme is ongoing on the high grade Dyke 1 and bulk sampling is planned on the Lion 5 dyke at the Kono kimberlite project.