Stellar Diamonds (LON:STEL) said its focus on trial mining at the Baoulé project in Guinea and delivering a feasibility study at Tongo in Sierra Leon will “continue to generate value for shareholders”.
The work to date has been promising – at Baoulé in particular progress has been encouraging.
The first ore processed yielded 196 carats in total, or 17 carats per hundred tonnes, which was well ahead of the minimum expected grade of 13 carats per hundred tonnes. The plan is to generate “regular cash flow from” Baoulé, Stellar said.
The update came alongside full-year results, which revealed the group made a reduced loss of US$4.1mln in the six months to June 30. Having raised US$6.5mln, Stellar is on a reasonably sound financial footing.
Chief executive Karl Smithson told investors: "Stellar has continued to deliver on its milestones this financial year.
“Since entering a joint venture on the Baoulé kimberlite pipe project in Guinea we have quickly established a trial mining operation that has delivered its first diamonds with higher grades than expected.
“The presence of larger gems of around five carats in size from early production runs has been particularly encouraging.
“Our target is to increase production towards 2,000 carats per month and to establish a regular cycle of diamond exports and sales during 2015.”