Firestone rough diamonds sale up by 168%

Firestone sales fancy pink at US$112781 per carat

Recently Firestone Diamonds, a new diamond producer with operations focused in Lesotho, announces its final audited results for the year ended 30 June 2018. Their key mine is Liqhobong Diamond Mine & that ran with Zero lost time injury record maintained with over 6.2 million man hours worked since project; commencement in July 2014 throughout the year!

Over all first full year of production characterised by exceptional operational performance & that says about 128% increase in diamonds recovered to 835 832 carats against the 365 891 carats of 2017. 18% increase in grade to 22.0 carats per hundred tonnes and 5% decrease in operating costs to US$11.62 per tonne treated compare to 2017 of US$12.26.

168% increase in carats sold to 831 637 carats compare to 2017 sales of 310 376 carats. Largest diamond recovered to date-until  September 2017 was a 134 carat gem-quality light yellow diamond; and most valuable diamond recovered, as measured by US Dollar per carat, was a fancy pink diamond which realised a sales price of US$112 781 per carat.

Paul Bosma, Chief Executive Officer, commented: "The 2018 financial year was an eventful one, marking the first full year as a diamond producer at Liqhobong. Having concluded a US$25.0 million fundraising at the end of December 2017 and restructuring our ABSA debt facility, we entered the second half of the financial year on a much stronger financial footing. 

We had an exceptional final quarter from an operational perspective, and I am pleased to say that this trend has continued into the 2019 financial year. I look forward to providing an update on the Q1-FY2019 results towards the end of October. We continue to evaluate our life of mine plan to assess the viability of an extension.

"From a market perspective, we have seen further evidence of subdued pricing for smaller, lower quality goods at the most recent diamond sales putting pressure on overall dollar per carat. However, the demand for larger, better quality stones remain strong.

The overall supply-demand dynamics in the natural diamond market remain favourable in the short to medium term with no new sources of supply on the horizon and the major producers carrying minimal stock and operating close to full capacity. This bodes well for Liqhobong which is only just starting its journey."