Underground Development at DiamondCorp’s Lace Mine on Schedule

DiamondCorp plc (LSE:DCP) provided an update on underground development and tailings retreatment activities at its South Africa-based Lace diamond mine, commenting that underground development is close to budget and on schedule.

Other highlights include:

• The programme for installation of the underground conveyor belt system is on schedule and fabrication of the first two legs has been completed.
• Surface piling for the raise boring of the life of mine vent shaft has been completed.
• The plant processed 149,957 tonnes of tailings against a budget of 140,000 tonnes in the three months ending 31 March 2014.
• Diamond recoveries for the period totalled 6,953 carats at a recovered grade of 4.64 carats per hundred tonnes (cpht) against a budget of 5.00 cpht.
• The recovered grade in March was 5.81 cpht and April to date is 5.77 cpht.
• Diamond sales for the year to date have totalled 7,505 carats at an average price of US$63 per carat.
• The 400 tonne per hour (tph) tailings sand screen is to be replaced with a conventional de-grit circuit in May.
• Underground core drilling designed to better define the rim of the Main Pipe for finalised cave layout and definition of the ‘Bulge’ area has intersected significantly more high-grade kimberlite on the eastern side of the pipe above the 345m level than was projected in the original Lace geological model. 
• This Upper K4 Block has the potential to add at least 1.0 million tonnes of additional kimberlite to the Lace mine plan which could be mined, without the requirement for additional project finance, while the 47 Level Block Cave development progresses.
• The Company remains on track for the commercial production ramp up from underground kimberlite mining to commence in H2 2015.

Click here to read the full DiamondCorp plc (LSE:DCP) press release.