British diamond mining company Gem Diamonds earned a profit of $20.8 million on revenue of $214.3 million for the year that ended December 31st 2017. On a year-onyear basis, the firm’s revenue climbed 13% while its profit declined 36%.
Diamond production at its Letseng mine in Lesotho grew marginally by 3% to 111,811 carats, averaging $1,930 per carat, versus 108,206 carats in 2016, averaging $1,695 per carat.
During the year, Gem Diamonds recovered seven diamonds larger than 100 carats each. The 7.87-carat pink diamond achieved $202,222 per carat, making it the second highest price per carat achieved by a Letseng rough diamond. The 58.38-carat white diamond achieved $61,905 per carat, making it the highest price per carat achieved for a Letseng rough white diamond for 2017.
Clifford Elphick, chief executive of Gem Diamonds, said: “The second half of 2017 saw the company begin to benefit from the operational improvements implemented during the year, with a significant improvement in the recovery of the large diamonds from Letseng. The market for the mine’s large, high quality white rough diamonds remained strong over the course of 2017, a trend which has continued into early 2018.
“We are pleased to have recently announced that The Lesotho Legend sold for the remarkable sum of $40 million. This is believed to be the fifth largest gem quality diamond ever recovered and is testament to the worldclass calibre of the Letseng mine.”