JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – TSX-V-listed Diamcor Mining sold 4 619 ct of rough diamonds, worth $842 419, in the three months to March 31.

The company, which owned the Krone-Endora at Venetia mine, in South Africa, had recovered an additional 650 ct of rough diamonds in the fourth quarter of the 2015 financial year, prior to the temporary suspension of processing early in March to complete upgrades and expansions to the facilities.

The 650 ct would be held in inventory pending its sale as part of rough diamond tenders during the current quarter.

Rough diamonds recovered and sold during the three months to March 31, were again the result of the processing of material specifically in the 1 mm to -26 mm size fractions prior to the planned suspension of processing, with the vast majority of that material continuing to be from the lower-grade upper gravels from the K1 area of the project.

Material in the 26 mm size fractions continued to be screened off and stockpiled during the period, pending the completion of the upgrades.

Meanwhile, the company noted that significant progress on its proposed upgrades and expansions had been completed on time, as envisioned, and that the total projected costs were expected to come in under budget.

“Significant Initial processing of material, through the new expanded and upgraded facilities, including those materials previously stockpiled in the larger 26 mm size fractions, are now under way at the project,” Diamcor said in a statement, adding that the upgrades were demonstrating the stated objective of the enhanced crushing and liberation of material in all size fractions. 

In addition to completing the various upgrades aimed at enhancing processing and the overall capacities of the project’s processing plant, the company also completed several other operational enhancements, including the installation of a second large material storage and autoloading bin to improve operational efficiencies and reduce costs, and the installation of additional water management infrastructure aimed at reducing overall water consumption at the project.

Final preparations for updating the project’s initial National Instrument 43-101 technical report also continued. Once filed, the updated report was expected to reflect the nature and extent of the infrastructure development achieved at the project, as well as other relevant data available to this point.