JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – Despite labour disruptions at LSE-listed Petra Diamonds’ Finsch, Koffiefontein and Kimberley Ekapa Mining (KEM) Joint Venture (JV) operations in late September, CEO Johan Dippenaar says the group achieved a strong start to the 2018 financial year.
Production for the quarter was down 4% year-on-year to 1.05-million carats, mainly as a result of the planned reduction in tailings production at Finsch and the KEM JV.
Run-of-mine (RoM) production, however increased by 17% year-on-year to 842 809 ct, despite the labour disruptions, which reduced RoM production by about 70 000 ct and tailings production by about 10 000 ct.
“The group is continuing its production build-up and it is encouraging to see the increasing contribution of RoM production,” commented Dippenaar.
The Finsch mine’s RoM production increased by 2% year-on-year to 467 795 ct, owing to improved RoM grades as a result of the continued ramp-up of the Block 5 sublevel cave, as well as owing to high-grade RoM surface stockpiles.
RoM production at Cullinan increased by 35% year-on-year to 250 001 ct, owing to the production ramp-up of the new processing plant. The XRL modules of the plant, which recover coarse material greater than 12 mm in size, were put into operation in September. Two diamonds larger than 200 ct have already been recovered.
At Koffiefontein, RoM production decreased by 19% year-on-year to 12 563 ct, as a result of the loss of about 3 000 ct of production during the labour disruption.
Petra on Monday reported that construction of the ore handling infrastructure at Koffiefontein would be completed in the quarter to end December 31, with RoM production to return to planned levels from the second half of the 2018 financial year.
The KEM JV’s attributable production also decreased by 29% year-on-year to 170 014 ct, with RoM treatment having increased as the modifications to the Central Treatment Plant were completed.
Meanwhile, production at the Williamson mine increased by 66% year-on-year to 85 213 ct.
However, a ban on the export of Petra’s diamonds from Tanzania, which has now been lifted, negatively impacted on the group’s revenues for the first quarter. Revenues decreased by 17% year-on-year to $78.7-million.
The Tanzanian government on September 28 agreed to allow Petra to resume the export and sale of diamonds recovered at the Williamson mine. This followed the seizure, by government officials, of a parcel of diamonds earlier in September, owing to allegations that the company had underdeclared the value of the diamonds to be exported.
Petra on Monday said it was yet to realise sales from Williamson for the current financial year and that it continued to engage with the Tanzanian government regarding a solution for the 71 654-ct parcel of diamonds that remains blocked for export.
A 40 000-ct parcel of diamonds recovered at the mine has been shipped to Petra’s marketing office for sale in the second quarter of the 2018 financial year.