Rockwell Diamonds Inc. in its quarterly production and sales update for total Company-owned properties for the three months ended February 29, 2016 (Q4 2016), reported that 4,925 carats were sold in the period for an amount of US$ 7.131 million. This represented a fall of 45% in sales value y-o-y, against sales worth US$ 13.07 million achieved in Q4 2015; and a drop of 42% compared to 8,467 carats sold in Q4 2015.  

Volume and carat production for total Company owned properties for the period stood at 4,714 carats (down 33%)  recovered from 789,000m3 (down 40%)  processed; as against 7,063 carats recovered from 1,315,000m3  processed in Q4 2015.

Commenting on fourth quarter production and sales James Campbell, CEO and President said: “After a very difficult operating period the fourth quarter performance showed positive signs of recovery in spite of the continued overall weakness in global diamond pricing. MOR (Middle Orange River) carat sales were down 42% year-on-year, but encouragingly 22% higher than in the third quarter at 4,925 carats. The value of MOR sales was up 34% on the previous quarter at US$ 7.1 million but down 45% on the equivalent quarter last year. The team at Saxendrift have done well to extend the operations there.”

The Company noted that overall, grades were up both quarter-on-quarter and year-on-year; and that average carat price realised from the Company’s MOR projects improved by 9% quarter-on-quarter, to US$ 1,448 per carat.

Regarding rough diamond inventory Rockwell said: “490 carats (including royalty contract miners’ inventory) were carried over into the first quarter of fiscal year 2017.”

Rockwell had conducted a strategic and operational review at the end of 2015 and during Q4 2016, the Company implemented a number of   decisions arising from this report. Some of the major decisions included the continued winding down of Saxendrift operations, with closure postponed to May 2016; the recommissioning of Wouterspan including plans for the same; and further exploration in properties around Wouterspan.

“Rockwell’s Johannesburg corporate office has been closed, staffing reduced and key senior Company executives have relocated to the MOR on a full-time basis,” the Company also announced. It added: “Operational reporting structures have been streamlined; mine management is now directly accountable for all mine operations, reporting to the CEO who is based full-time in the MOR.”

“The recent streamlining of corporate structures is expected to deliver tangible cost saving benefits in the short term,” said Campbell. “Albeit challenging, the restructuring decision was one which we felt compelled to take in order to deliver greater value to our stakeholders.”