BlueRock Diamonds PLC (LON:BRD) reported higher production, grades and prices from its Kareevlei diamond mine in South Africa in the first quarter.
"We are pleased to report that production levels are up on the same period last year, despite the adverse weather conditions, and the grade for the first quarter is within expectations,” said executive chairman Mike Houston.
“We are particularly pleased by the recovery in the prices for our diamonds averaging US$446 per carat for the quarter, which is significantly higher than the pre-COVID period last year (US$327) and the average for 2019 (US$415).
During the quarter, we sold four large carat diamonds, which generated in excess of US$50,000 each for a total of US$381,000.”
The AIM-quoted company said production jumped 40% from the year-earlier quarter to 3,507 carats and the number of carats sold rose 23% to 4,004 carats.
However, BlueRock said a plant upgrade will likely be fully operational later than originally expected and lowered its production guidance range for the year.
"Our new project management team have settled in and are working well on the upgrade of our plant," said Houston. "As a result of this collaboration, we have decided to reprioritise some of the ancillary elements of the expansion project, which had been scheduled previously to take place following commissioning of the wet half of the new plant. We now expect the plant to be fully operational by the end of July, a month later than previously anticipated.
"We are still targeting production in excess of the bottom end of our existing guidance of 850,000 tonnes for 2021 although, for prudence, we are reducing our published guidance for 2021 of tonnes processed to 750,000 tonnes to 850,000 and carats produced to 30,000 to 39,000.”
In January, the company said it expected to process 850,000 to 1,000,000 tonnes in 2021 and produce 34,000 to 46,000 carats.
Once the expansion project is complete, annual throughput will be around 1 million tonnes, it reiterated.