BlueRock Diamonds PLC,   which owns and operates the Kareevlei Diamond Mine in the Kimberley region of South Africa, said in a review of 2018 and its Q4 production update that  it had sold 5,805 carats in 2018, a figure 71% higher  than   the 3,385 carats sold in 2017.

The Company reported that the production volume in FY 2018 was up 24% to 189,990 tonnes as against 153,147 tonnes in the previous year.

In the period under consideration, the Company realised an average grade of 3.28 carats per hundred tonnes (cpht); which marked an increase of 34% over 2.45 cpht achieved in FY 2017.

However, the price per carat of its rough dropped to US$ 332 in 2018 from US$ 362 achieved in 2017.

In Q4 2018, the Company recorded an increase in  average grade  to 4.0 cpht; higher by  63% over the average for 2017.

BlueRock CEO Adam Waugh  commented: “2018 has seen good progress for BlueRock with both production and the recovered grade increasing significantly. The results from our second kimberlite pipe, KV1, which came on stream in June last year, and from the undiluted levels of our first kimberlite pipe, KV2, have shown a marked increase in grade, which we expect to continue into 2019. Our move to 365-day operations is expected to start in February and is expected to give us around 40% additional plant availability. This, coupled with a consistently improving grade profile, makes the outlook for 2019 very encouraging. It is hoped that the operational improvements seen over the last two years and further improvements planned will now translate into generating value for shareholders.”