A valuation of a small sample from its Lemphane mine in Lesotho has confirmed the presence of large, high value diamonds, Paragon Diamonds (LON:PRG) said.
The valuation, undertaken by WWW International Diamond Consultants, was performed on 114 carats (cts) taken from bulk sampling at Lemphane.
Coarse diamonds accounted for 43% of the sample weight, with the highest value a 3.71 ct stone valued at over US$2,300 per carat.
Paragon said the results were very encouraging and it will commission WWW to model diamond prices again once bulk sampling has reached 1,000 cts.
“Taken in combination, the drilling, bulk sampling and surface geological mapping that are all currently in progress will enable a preliminary geological resource to be determined, as well as the sizes and quality of diamonds within the kimberlite,” it added.
Meanwhile, deep drilling at Lemphane is approaching 200m. Six holes are being drilled to confirm an in-house tonnage estimate of 53mln tonnes to a depth of about 400m.
Work on the scoping study is also progressing, it said. A preliminary open-pit design demonstrated the ability to mine in excess of 20mln tonnes of kimberlite to a depth of 180m, at a waste:ore ratio of under 2:1.
The company is formulating its Mining Lease Application (MLA) to be presented to the Ministry of Mines in the first quarter of 2013.
The application will incorporate a ramp-up period of 6 months, commencing later in 2013, and aimed at extracting and processing 100,000 tonnes of kimberlite, anticipated to yield 2-3,000 carats of diamonds,
Chairman Martin Doyle said: "The confirmation of large high value diamonds at Lemphane validates our decision to accelerate development of this deposit.
The transition from bulk sampling to mining on a trial basis with the expected production of several thousand carats by the year end brings us closer to generating significant revenue from Lemphane."