Paragon Diamonds Finalizes Design of Lemphane Processing Plant

Paragon Diamonds Ltd. (LSE:PRG) announced that it has finalized the design and order plans for the state-of-the-art processing plant for the Lemphane kimberlite mine. The mine is owned by Meso Diamonds (Pty) Ltd., Paragon’s 80-percent-owned subsidiary.

As quoted in the press release:

The plant’s modular design and use of the latest X-Ray Transmission (XRT) diamond recovery technology will reduce both capital and operating costs at Lemphane, improve diamond recovery, and as a result significantly enhance the Project’s economics. This update is in line with the Company’s objective to commence Stage I production at Lemphane in Q1 2015, which will involve the extraction of 1 million tonnes of kimberlite over a two year period and, according to an independent report, is expected to lead to the recovery of over 100 diamonds larger than 9 carats, including stones over 100 carats in size.

Philip Falzon, chairman of Paragon, commented:

The construction of this ‘state of the art’ processing plant is a major milestone for Paragon as we home in on our Q1 2015 target for the commencement of Stage I production. As Lemphane is the last, known undeveloped large diamondiferous kimberlite pipe in Lesotho, Paragon benefits from last mover advantage, whereby we get to see in practice the advantages and disadvantages of the various techniques and technologies employed on other kimberlites to date, as well as enjoying access to the latest equipment. We have therefore cherry-picked the best-in-class X-Ray technology for our plant, which not only lowers our forecast operating costs but also maximises the recovery rates of large high value stones at Lemphane, reduces the potential for breakages, and enhances on-site security.

Click here to read the full Paragon Diamonds Ltd. (LSE:PRG) press release.