Dominion Diamond Corporation, released its sales and production update for the fiscal quarter ending April 30, 2016 (Q1 2017), reporting that diamond sales during the period at US$ 178.3 million were down compared to the US$ 187.7 million generated in Q1 2016. The Company said that it held two sales during the period.

Commenting on rough prices, Dominion said that it had lowered prices by 5% in its January sale, in line with the market. However, it added that prices quickly recovered after that and ended the first quarter on average approximately 8% higher than they started the fiscal year.

At the Ekati mine, which it operates, Dominion reported that the positive momentum from the fourth quarter continued, with carat production reaching 1.1 million carats from 1.0 million tonnes of ore processed, up 34% compared to Q1 2016 when 0.8 million carats were recovered from 0.9 million tonnes.

Production at the mine was mainly from the Pigeon and Misery Main pipes. At the end of the quarter, approximately 0.7 million tonnes of Pigeon ore remained in stockpiles which will permit greater flexibility in ore blend as it is processed throughout the rest of fiscal 2017. Commercial production for Misery Main was declared in May ahead of plan, the Company said, adding that the initial Misery Main ore will be lower grade as a result of dilution from the mining of preceding benches.

Diavik results for the first calendar quarter of 2016 were released recently. It follows that year ending December 31, while Ekati reports to the fiscal year ending January 31.

Dominion said that market conditions during the first quarter improved significantly as inventories were replenished by manufacturers in response to a positive retail season at the end of 2015. The U.S. jewellery market was at the forefront of demand growth, while sales in mainland China remained reasonably steady, though the Hong Kong and Macau markets faced considerable headwinds. Other major retail markets were mixed with some more resilient in local currency terms but adversely impacted by the strong U.S. Dollar.

The Company plans to hold three rough diamond sales in the second fiscal quarter of 2017.