Diamcor Sales Drop Amid Shift to Smaller Stones

RAPAPORT... Diamcor Mining's rough-diamond sales fell 22% year on yearto $569,059 in the second fiscal quarter amid production of smaller,lower-quality stones. The company sold 3,760 carats, including a 20.66-caratgem-quality rough, for an average price of $151 per carat during the periodending September 30, it said last week. Although the volume of sales from its Krone-Endora at Venetia project in South Africa rose, value fell due to changes the miner is making to its production process.During the quarter, the miner primarily processed tailings - ore that has already been processed once - and previously stockpiled material, as it makes changes to its ore-retrieval process in order to make it more efficient. These enhancements led the miner to produce smaller stones. While weaknessin market for smaller rough dented the average price, theminer believes the improvements it has made at the mine will pay off in the long run. "The company anticipates the average price per carat will improveto historical levels as the processing of newly mined material begins throughthe now-refined process facilities," it noted. The miner has an additional 4,825 carats, including a 28.45-caratgem-quality stone, which it will sell at a tender in Antwerp in the next fewweeks. Image: Rough diamonds. (Diamcor Mining)