BlueRock Diamonds PLC has resumed mining at the Kareevlei diamond mine in the Kimberley region of South Africa, following a government-ordered stoppage.
In addition, commissioning of the new plant designed to increase production to one million tonnes per annum and carats produced to between 40,000 and 43,000 carats per annum is progressing well.
The crushing circuit and Line 1 are now fully operational and are achieving design capacity.
The old plant was closed last week and the two pans, as planned, have been refurbished and fitted to Line 2. Ore will be fed onto Line 2 this week and the ramp up to full production will start shortly thereafter.
"We are confident that given the experience of commissioning Line 1, commissioning Line 2 should be relatively straightforward, which should enable us to fast track to full production,” said BlueRock executive chairman Mike Houston.
“Pleasingly, the mine had, prior to the short suspension of mining activities, been building up stocks of crushed ore and will resume doing so until early December when Line 2 is expected to be fully operational. These stocks will help sustain production as we move into the rainy season and position us to deliver on the lower end of our 2021 production guidance of 22,000 to 26,000 carats."