(IDEX Online) - British miner BlueRock Diamonds says revenue almost trebled in 2019 at its Kareevlei mine, in the Kimberley region of South Africa.
It was up 190 per cent from $1.75m in 2018 to $5.1m in the year ended 31 December 2019, according to final results issued yesterday.
BlueRock sold 12,675 carats during 2019, up 124 per cent from 5,657 carats in 2018 and the average price per carat rose 24 per cent from $334 to $415.
However executive chairman Michael Houston cautioned that COVID-19 had so far cost the company about $685,000 in terms of lost revenue, care and maintenance, and start-up costs.
BlueRock expects to start selling its diamonds, branded as Kareevlei Diamonds, in Antwerp from September, in an attempt to attract more buyers, and will keep productions costs to a minimum.
"The board has taken the decision to focus on keeping the cost of production as low as possible to minimise the risk that its selling or finance price (being 70% of market value) will be below cost of production," the company said.
"Accordingly, the decision has been taken to reduce the level of development mining to align with the lower annual production, remove contract crushing and freeze employment whilst continuing to manage overhead costs."
Pic courtesy BlueRock