Dominion Diamond Releases Quarterly Results for Ekati, Diavik Mines

Dominion Diamond Corp. (TSX:DDC,NYSE:DDC) announced production and sales results for its Ekati and Diavik mines for the first fiscal quarter of 2016.

In terms of Ekati, the company said:

The mine plan for the first quarter was adapted to take into account changes required to offset the Koala Underground conveyor belt failure that occurred in the previous quarter. However, good progress has been made and it is currently expected that the shortfall in the Koala ore that occurred will be made up by end of the second quarter of this year. Underground production for Koala and Koala North for the quarter was ahead of plan, driven primarily by higher productivity. In addition, the extraction of material from Koala North is expected to be completed in the second quarter. Surface mining activities during the quarter were impacted by unusually extreme winter conditions but prioritizing the waste stripping at Misery has meant that the Misery Main ore release remained essentially on schedule. A new excavator was commissioned earlier this month to ensure that ore release from Pigeon will remain on schedule. The Sable bulk sample and Jay drilling programs were completed on schedule and processing of the material is progressing as planned.

Looking at Diavik, it commented:

Processing volumes in the first fiscal quarter of 2016 were 27% lower than the same quarter of the prior year, which was principally as a result of three factors. Firstly, additional stockpile ore was available and processed during the comparable quarter of the prior year which was fully exhausted in fiscal 2015. Secondly, production was negatively impacted as mining progressed through an area of higher than normal dilution in the A-418 ore body, which reduced ore availability from this pipe. The high dilution is a result of minor geotechnical rock falls encountered last year. Thirdly, during the quarter there were upgrades to the crusher plant to improve throughput, which led to a reduction in processing capacity.

Diamonds recovered in the first fiscal quarter were 18% lower than the same quarter of the prior year due to the lower volume of ore available for processing as described above.

Dominion Diamond Corporation is a Canadian diamond mining company with ownership interests in two major producing diamond mines. Both mines are located in the low political risk environment of the Northwest Territories in Canada.

The Company operates the Ekati Diamond Mine through its 88.9% ownership as well as a 65.3% ownership in the surrounding areas containing additional reserves and resources, and also owns 40% of the Diavik Diamond Mine. It supplies rough diamonds to the global market through its sorting and selling operations in Canada, Belgium and India and is the world’s third largest producer of rough diamonds by value.