https://www.miningweekly.com

Firestone reports lower q/q output, sales for Q1

29th October 2018

By: Marleny Arnoldi

Deputy Editor Online

     

Font size: - +

Aim-listed Firestone Diamonds recovered 240 733 ct of diamonds at a grade of 23.8 carats per hundred tonnes (cpht) from its Liqhobong mine, in Lesotho, during the quarter ended September 30 – the first quarter of its 2019 financial year

This compares with the 263 512 ct recovered at a grade of 25.7 cpht in the fourth quarter of the 2018 financial year, ended June 30.

Diamond sales decreased to 194 206 ct, for revenue of $13.5-million, compared with the 261 985 ct sold for $18.6-million in the prior quarter.

Firestone on Monday said the average value of $70/ct was below expectation, mainly owing to a deterioration in prices received for the smaller, lower-value run-of-mine (RoM) stones.

“The quarter was a good start to our financial year and a positive operational momentum from the prior quarter was maintained.

“The strong demand for our special stones offset the continued pricing pressure on the RoM stones,” commented CEO Paul Bosma.

After the reporting period, Firestone sold a 68 ct white diamond, which is the third-most valuable stone sold to date, for just under $1-million, and a 20 ct fancy yellow diamond. The company also recovered a 326 ct near-gem diamond, which is the largest stone recovered to date at the Liqhobong mine.

Edited by Chanel de Bruyn
Creamer Media Senior Deputy Editor Online

Comments

The content you are trying to access is only available to subscribers.

If you are already a subscriber, you can Login Here.

If you are not a subscriber, you can subscribe now, by selecting one of the below options.

For more information or assistance, please contact us at subscriptions@creamermedia.co.za.

Option 1 (equivalent of R125 a month):

Receive a weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine
(print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
Receive daily email newsletters
Access to full search results
Access archive of magazine back copies
Access to Projects in Progress
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format

Option 2 (equivalent of R375 a month):

All benefits from Option 1
PLUS
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports, in PDF format, on various industrial and mining sectors including Electricity; Water; Energy Transition; Hydrogen; Roads, Rail and Ports; Coal; Gold; Platinum; Battery Metals; etc.

Already a subscriber?

Forgotten your password?

MAGAZINE & ONLINE

SUBSCRIBE

RESEARCH CHANNEL AFRICA

SUBSCRIBE

CORPORATE PACKAGES

CLICK FOR A QUOTATION