Business
Botswana’s Stable Diamond Industry Increases Mine Prospects for Second Quarter
“Work to identify further incremental improvements to throughput and breakage at both plants is ongoing. Results are encouraging and this work will progress during early 2014,” added Elphick. Gem Diamonds reported a decline in recovered diamonds at Letšeng- 95 053 ct in 2013, compared with 114 350 ct in 2012 – as the company mined mostly lower-grade Main pipe ore during the first three quarters of the year.
Mining moved into the higher-grade, higher-value Satellite orebody in the last four months of the year, resulting in the anticipated improvement in the grade, size and quality of diamonds produced.
FINANCIAL RESULTS
Gem Diamonds said the technological and strategic investments made during the year, together with a more stable diamond market, had resulted in 5% higher revenue at $213-million, owing to the sale of 97 294 ct from Letšeng during the year to December.
This compared with the revenue of $202-million from the sale of 107 617 ct in the prior year. The group reported underlying earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation of $77-million in 2013 – up 18% from the year before.
Profit for the year rose to $38-million, compared with the $32-million in the prior period, while basic earnings a share increased 24% to $0.15.
OUTLOOK
Gem Diamonds aimed to build a $14-million coarse recovery plant, with X-ray transmissive technology installed during 2014 to extract “better value from our existing assets”.
“This project will use the latest technology to treat the high-value coarse fraction of the ore to ensure greater recovery of the higher-value Type II diamonds. It will also include further security improvements and advanced technology diamond accounting of all diamonds recovered by these units,” Elphick explained.
