A report was announced in March of this year from Nova Scotia, Canada stating that diamond sales by the subsidiary Etruscan Diamonds out of South Africa were averaging in more than $750 a carat, a huge jump from earlier numbers of $466 per carat. In addition, the report stated that not only had diamond prices jumped significantly, the grades were also improved.
For the month of February of this year, production coming out of Tirisano Diamond Mine resulted in 1,224 carats with an overall grade of 2.67 carats per hundred cubic meters. In all, more than 1,300 carats with an average price of $845 per carat were placed on tender the first part of March. These consistent yields, along with cutting and polishing shows that a finished diamond can actually increase value of the diamond by as much as 40%
The sales generated from the diamond production were from the Tirisano Diamond Mine in the South African district of Ventersdorp. This particular plant is capable of treating some 50,000 cubic meters of gravel a month. Additionally, new additions to include four, 16-foot pan plants, which increased the month’s capacity for Tirisano mine operations by another 50,000 cubic meters. This means that the existing and new pan plants are expected to reach the projected forecast for production of 100,000 cubic meters every month, within 60 days. As a result, more than 2,500 diamond carats per month is anticipated.
Another project called the Blue Gum Project has 20.5 million cubic meters of diamond resource (Upper and Lower Gravel), as well as 17 million cubic meters of inferred diamond resource, with grades for the two averaging anywhere from 1.77 to 2.85 carats per 100 cubic meters. Taking past sales from the various gravel packages for bulk sampling, the average price per carat is around $466.
Sales numbers for February’s production of diamonds and sales prices are indicating an increased value from the deeper gravel package. Currently, Etruscan Diamonds is going through a prefeasibility study on this very project, which is expected to be done something in this year’s second quarter. Led by MDM Engineering out of South Africa, the results of the study, along with the completion of application for a listing with the stock exchange is expected to help the Blue Gum Diamond Project expand to 260,000 cubic meters of gravel every month, a substantial difference.
In summary, Etruscan Diamonds is working hard to create a solid diamond company. To accomplish this, a strategic partnership with African Romance was recently implemented, making this the first all black owned diamond cutting and polishing company in South Africa. The company, African Romance just opened a new facility for cutting and polishing diamonds just outside of Johannesburg. This company also has a great reputation, maintaining compliancy with the Kimberley Process while also pioneering a new bar code inscription system that involves fingerprinting. With this, diamonds can be tracked efficiently as they leave one destination and arrived at the final locale.
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