Name and Location
Lace diamond mine development project, Free State, South Africa.

Client
Lace Diamond Mines (LDM), a 74% subsidiary of DiamondCorp.

Project Description
The 1.2-million-tonne-a-year Lace mine is expected to produce more than 500 000 ct/y of diamonds at peak production.

The Main pipe contains 33.1-million tons of kimberlite, indicated and inferred to a depth of 855 m, containing an estimated 13.4-million carats in both resource categories at an average grade of 40.1 ct per hundred tonnes (cpht).

The resource has an in situ value of more than $2-billion at $160/ct.

The deposit will be mined using block-cave mining, with three caves planned over the 25-year life-of-mine (LoM) on the 47, 67 and 85 levels at depths of 470 m, 670 m and 850 m respectively.

The kimberlite is open at depth, with a significant bulge between 250 m and 360 m. The kimberlite can potentially add additional tonnage and diamonds not currently included in the resource statement.

Net Present Value/Internal Rate of Return
Not stated.

Value
The total development cost of the project, including working capital and a 15% contingency on capital and development costs, is estimated at R384-million.

Duration
The Lace mine is due to start production in the second half of 2015.

Latest Developments
DiamondCorp has, following completion of back-filling activities and almost two weeks ahead of schedule, resumed development tunnelling on the 290 m doming level at the Lace mine.

The company has reported that tunnelling on the 290 m level is progressing in competent high-grade K4 kimberlite, following successful installation of steel-arched sets for a 10 m section through the centre of the slot drive crosscut on this level.

Tunnel advances are being achieved at the originally planned rate, as the kimberlite contains significantly less internal waste than the lower-grade K6 kimberlite on the southern side of the pipe, through which the development tunnels need to traverse before entering the high-grade Upper K4 (UK4) mining block.

The sets provide a safe canopy for workers and machinery that need to access this level for the start of drilling and blasting of the slot between the 290 m and 310 m production level.

The slot provides the initial ramp-up in mining tonnages from the UK4 block, which is on schedule to start next month.

DiamondCorp CEO Paul Loudon has said the resumption of development work on the 290 m level, combined with commissioning of the 400 t/h conveyor belt system from the first production level, means that the mine has overcome many of the operational challenges in recent months have been overcome.

Key Contracts and Suppliers
None stated.

On Budget and on Time?
The mine’s ramp-up is expected to start six months ahead of the original schedule.

Contact Details for Project Information
DiamondCorp, tel +44 20 3151 0970, fax +44 20 3151 0971 or email info@diamondcorp.plc.uk