JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – Aim-listed Gem Diamonds achieved solid earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda) of $43.5-million in the six months ended June 30.
“This reflects careful cost management and capital discipline. It is also encouraging to see that the capital projects implemented at Letšeng are bearing fruit, with a notable increase in tonnes treated and carats recovered, compared to prior periods,” CEO Clifford Elphick said in a statement on Wednesday.
Gem recovered 57 380 ct of diamonds at its Letšeng operation in Lesotho, and 20 876 ct recovery at its Ghaghoo mine, in Botswana.
However, the financials were lower than its prior-year results, when it reported an underlying Ebitda of $46.1-million. The miner also saw a slight drop in its basic earnings a share, down from 10.69c in 2015 to 9.7c this year.
This, Gem Diamonds explained, was owing to a $40-million noncash impairment at Gaghoo, an attributable loss of $26.6-million and a basic loss a share of $0.19.
The company further highlighted that it had recovered a 160.2 ct “exceptional” Type II diamond in the year and, since the beginning of July, a further two exceptional diamonds of 104 ct and 85 ct had been recovered.
However, the first half of the year still saw a decline in the number of diamonds larger than 100 ct recovered at Letšeng, compared with 2015, reflecting the areas in which mining had taken place, which impacted the dollar-per-carat achieved in the period.