Photo by: Duane Daws
JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – Aim-listed Firestone Diamonds plans to conclude its Botswana asset disposal process next year, allowing the company’s management team to focus their attention on the successful completion of the Liqhobong mine development project, in Lesotho, the company said on Thursday.
Firestone started the development programme on the Liqhobong mine in late June after having completed the project financing in May.
The project was expected to take two years to build and commission and, when completed in 2016, Liqhobong was expected to be a more than one-million-carat-a-year producer, which would place it in the top tier of diamond mines globally, Firestone said.
The company also pointed out that the revised definitive feasibility study (DFS) for the project had confirmed its strong economics, having set out a base case after-tax net present value (NPV), at an 8% discount rate, of $379-million and an internal rate of return (IRR) of 30%.
The DFS also showed an after-tax NPV, at an 8% discount rate, of $728-million and an IRR of 45%, which also included large stones of more than 100 ct.
The total capital expenditure for the plant and associated infrastructure was estimated at $185-million.
Meanwhile, Firestone also narrowed its net loss to $11.2-million in the financial year ended June 30, from $22.6-million the year before.
Cash on hand at year-end was $107-million, compared with $4.1-million at the end of the prior financial year.