JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – Aim-listed Richland Resources reported lower-than-expected fourth-quarter revenue of some $3.9-million, following the theft of $1.46-million worth of tanzanite from its Tanzania-based sorting house, in December.

Income for the quarter ended December 2012 was substantially less than the $5.9-million revenue posted by the gemstone producer in the fourth-quarter of the previous year.

About 89 066 g of material was stolen during the break-in at the company’s sorting house.

Richland told shareholders on Monday that the insurance claim and police investigation were progressing well and that it would update the market shortly.

Meanwhile, the company’s tanzanite production increased to 795 162 ct from the processing of 7 812 t of material at an average grade of 102 ct/t for the period, up 43.5% on the 554 060 ct produced in the fourth quarter of 2011.

Richland also started the evaluation of proposed resumption of graphite production at its existing Merelani tanzanite licence area, in Tanzania, which had been operational from 1996 to 1998 before being converted to a tanzanite mining operation.

Historically, 8 000 t of graphite concentrate had been produced, with current work focusing on historic data to verify the historic production, resource, grade and quality.

“With a significant non-Joint Ore Reserves Committee-compliant resource and reserves determined at the Merelani graphite mine, coupled with increased global demand for graphite flakes, the company is confident that this low-cost and near-term revenue diversification strategy will greatly contribute in helping to realise shareholder value moving forward,” Richland CEO Bernard Olivier said in a statement.

Further, Richland restarted bulk sampling of its tsavorite project, located 20 km from its tanzanite mine, which saw some 666 t collected and processed from six different sites within the deposit area.

In addition, Richland’s subsidiary, TanzaniteOne Mining, continued ongoing negotiations with the government of Tanzania regarding a potential shareholding by the State.

“The company is confident that once the negotiations have been completed with government, the subsequent joint venture (JV) agreement will greatly assist the company in realising even further value from its tanzanite operations,” Olivier commented.

The potential JV and shareholding currently under discussion related to the ownership structure of the mining licence covering Block C at Merelani.