(IDEX Online) - BlueRock Diamonds has announced two exceptional gem quality stones at its Kareevlei mine in South Africa, signaling the end of a poor run of recoveries. The UK-based miner, which reports all stones over $50,000, says it recovered two gems of 14.8 carats and 8.7 carats.It follows the recovery earlier this month of a 12.8-carat diamond, which has since sold for $76,000 and comes after what it described as "the reduced incidence of larger stones in 2020.""We are hopeful that the discovery of three high value stones within a month marks the start of a return to mining higher value diamonds," said executive chairman, Mike Houston."Promisingly, our more recent diamond sorts at Kareevlei indicate an increased incidence of diamonds of three carats and above, which is another significant driver of pricing."He said few large finds and the pandemic had resulted in 12 per cent drop in the price it achieved per carat this year, compared with 2019, from $330 to $290.BlueRock was forced to halt operations for seven weeks because of COVID-19, but mitigated losses through an agreement with brokers Bonas-Cousyns to sell its diamonds in Antwerp and achieve higher per-carat prices.Generic pic of a BlueRock diamond from Kareevlei