Shift to Cheaper Rough Hits Diamcor Results

RAPAPORT... Diamcor Mining's rough-diamond sales were flat year on year in the third fiscal quarter, as a shift to lower-quality goods led to a drop in the average price.The company sold 13,218 carats for $1.4 million during the period ending December 31 at an average price of $107 per carat, it said last week. That compared to the $1.4 million it earned during the same period the previous year, when it sold 7,162 carats for $196 per carat.The lower average price was the result of a higher proportion of smaller, lower-quality rough in its product mix, as the company is currently focused on tailings production. This treatment of ore that has already been processed is likely to last until the end of January, it noted.Diamcor owns and operates the Krone-Endora at Venetia project in South Africa.Image: Rough diamonds in a shovel. (Diamcor Mining)