BlueRock Unearths “Exceptional” 8.97-carat Diamond

London-listed gem producer BlueRock Diamonds (LSE:BRD) has discovered an exceptional 8.97-carat diamond at its Kareevlei mine, in the Kimberley region of South Africa.

The recovery of the almost 9-carat stone at the company’s site, located in the Northern Cape province of South Africa, is the first large discovery of 2019.

The recently recovered sparkler is the third gem from Kareevlei to be independently assessed and valued in excess of US$50,000.

In 2017, BlueRock recovered a 7.76-carat diamond at its South African site, the stone then sold for US$10,070 per carat — higher than most per carat diamond sales.

Last year, a 10.58-carat gem was unearthed at Kareevlei, which was recovered in 2018 and sold for US$7,047 per carat.

“The 8.97-carat stone recovered on Friday 1st February, along with two other high-quality 6.36-carat and 3.64-carat diamonds, reinforces the exceptional quality being produced at Kareevlei.” BlueRock’s CEO Adam Waugh said in the press release.

The diamonds discovered at Kareevlei are of exceptional quality and rank in the global top ten in terms of average value per carat, according to BlueRock.

The mining license area for the site covers 3,000 hectares and hosts five known diamondiferous kimberlite pipes. As of the end of 2018, it was estimated that the remaining inferred mineral resource from the four kimberlite pipes could contain as much as 367,000 contained carats.

Despite this most recent large find, the year started shaky for BlueRock, when the company temporarily suspended production at Kareevlei after receiving a Section 54 notice from South Africa’s mining regulator.

A company announcement explained: “The Section 54 notice is in relation to the code of practice relating to operation of trackless mining machines only and resulted from an accident on Friday [January 18] involving an external contractor; Section 54 notices are not uncommon as a result of such incidents.”

Production at Kareevlei recommenced 8 days after the work stoppage was issued.

BlueRock will now move to a 365-day operations model, which the company estimates will increase plant availability by 40 percent. A 2019 financing and operations guidance for BlueRock will be released sometime this month.

Shares of BlueRock were up 7 percent on Tuesday (February 5), trading at GBX 0.3479.

Image courtesy of BlueRock Diamonds. 

Don’t forget to follow us @INN_Resource for real-time updates!

Securities Disclosure: I, Georgia Williams, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.