Dominion Diamond Corp (TSE:DDC) (NYSE:DDC) is upping its expectations with the release of updated production guidelines for calendar 2013 and sales for fiscal 2014, it was announced Friday.
The Toronto-based diamond miner, which owns interests in two mines in Canada’s Northwest Territories, anticipates an increase in carats of more than 10 per cent from one of the mines in which it owns an interest.
The forecast for the Diavik diamond mine, in which Dominion Diamond owns a 40 per cent interest, for calendar 2013 has been upped to reflect the anticipated increase in carats by approximately 11 per cent on the previous guidance, due primarily to the processing of more stockpiled ore.
The revised forecast for the Diavik mine foresees production of approximately 6.6 million carats from the mining of approximately 1.6 million tonnes of ore. The calculations, based on 100 per cent of production, also call for the processing of approximately 2 million tonnes of material from both mining and stockpiles.
The current mine plan is expected to take the mine’s production to at least 2022. This plan is subject to further revision at the end of the second quarter, it said.
Also under review is a new mine plan and budget for the company’s newly-acquired Ekati diamond mine for the next operating period.
The plan forecasts production for the mine for the period stretching from the date of the company’s acquisition of its 80 per cent interest, April 10 of this year, until the end of calendar 2013, as being approximately 1 million carats. This production is forecast to come from the mining of approximately 3.5 million tonnes from mineral reserve and the processing of approximately 3.9 million tonnes of mineral reserve.
The current Ekati mine plan predicts production until 2020 with the proviso that additional resources could become economic with increased diamond prices.
As for sales, rough diamond sales for fiscal 2014, based on current rough diamond prices, are expected to total approximately $730 million, a figure arrived at from the estimate of $365 million coming from each of the company’s two mines.