Name of the Project
Lace diamond mine development project.

Location
Free State, South Africa.

Client
Lace Diamond Mines (LDM), a 74% subsidiary of DiamondCorp.

Project Description
The 1.2-million-tonne-a-year Lace mine is expected to produce more than 500 000 ct/y of diamonds at peak production.

The deposit will be mined using block-cave mining, with three caves planned over the 25-year life-of-mine on the 47, 67 and 85 levels at depths of 470 m, 670 m and 850 m respectively.

The kimberlite is open at depth, with a significant bulge of between 250 m and 360 m. The kimberlite can potentially add additional tonnage and diamonds not currently included in the resource statement.

The Upper K4 (UK4) block is being mined using long-hole open stoping while development of the first block cave on the 50 m level continues.

Net Present Value/Internal Rate of Return
Not stated.

Value
The total development cost of the project, including working capital and a 15% contingency on capital and development costs, is estimated at R384-million.

Duration
The production ramp-up from the Upper K4 (UK4) block started in December 2015.

Latest Developments
The appointment of Cork Gully’s Stephen Cork and Jo Milner as joint administrators for DiamondCorp became effective on May 10.

Late in April, the company filed notice of its intention to appoint the administrators after the board had determined that the company was no longer able to continue trading as a going concern.

Further, Panmure Gordon has resigned with immediate effect as DiamondCorp’s nominated adviser and broker, with the admission of the company’s securities on Aim now scheduled to be cancelled on May 15, as DiamondCorp will not select a replacement.

“The directors intend to continue to work with both the joint administrators of DiamondCorp and the joint business rescue practitioners of the company’s operating subsidiary Lace Diamond Mines (LDM) . . . to try to preserve any remaining stakeholder value,” DiamondCorp has said.

In November, DiamondCorp appointed Deloitte & Touche’s Daniel Terblanche and Independent Advisory’s Lebogang Mpakati as business rescue practitioners for LDM after a flood had halted all operations.

The group has maintained its Aim and AltX trading suspension, with an update on the status of the admission to trading on AltX to be advised in due course.

Key Contracts and Suppliers
None stated.

On Budget and on Time?
The project is on time.

Contact Details for Project Information
DiamondCorp, tel +44 20 3151 0970, fax +44 20 3151 0971 or email info@diamondcorp.plc.uk.