Ellendale's Yellow Diamonds May Rise Again

RAPAPORT... The Western Australian government is looking for experiencedcompanies to operate the Ellendale mine, famous for its fancy-yellow diamonds. On offer are Ellendale's E4 and E9 pits, storage facilitiesand infrastructure, which belonged to Kimberley Diamond Company before thecompany went into administration in 2015. For the past two years, the state's Departmentof Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety has been managing the site through itsabandoned-mines program, keeping it viable for future development. Ellendale produced around half of the world's supply of rareyellow diamonds during peak production, and was also the main supplier of fancy-yellow diamonds for luxury jewelry retailer Tiffany & Co. POZ Minerals - a new Western Australia-based miningcompany -recently bought the Blina diamond project, an area adjacent to the Ellendalemine. Sample testing there yielded a parcel of stones greater than 2 carats, includinga number of fancy yellows, with an overall valuation of $389 per carat. Thefancy-yellow diamonds were expected to sell for $3,391 per carat. POZ chairmanJim Richards met with Tiffany recently to discuss a potential deal between thetwo companies, according to Stockhead. Mining companies interested in operating Ellendale haveuntil November 30 to submit an expression of interest to the government, whilethe department plans to announce the chosen company by early 2019, it said.