BlueRock Diamonds PLC / AIM: BRD / Sector: Natural Resources
5 April 2022
BlueRock Diamonds PLC ('BlueRock' or the 'Company')
Diamond Sale Update
4 High Value Diamonds sold in March tender
BlueRock Diamonds PLC, the AIM listed diamond producer, which owns and operates the Kareevlei Diamond Mine ('Kareevlei') in the Kimberley region of South Africa, is pleased to announce that four larger gem quality stones were sold in the March tender as follows:
.
| Carats | Value USD000 | Value per carat USD000 |
| 19.3 | 116 | 6 |
| 12.7 | 128 | 10 |
| 8.7 | 104 | 12 |
| 6.6 | 63 | 9.5 |
Notably, the average tender price of the total parcel was over USD1,000 per carat, which is significantly above the 2021 average of USD465 per carat and follows on the back of the strong January and February 2022 tenders, which recorded an average price of circa USD600 per carat.
Mike Houston, Executive Chairman said, "It is very pleasing to announce the recovery of another four high value diamonds, which were sold in our latest tender. The market is obviously being influenced by the current geopolitical situation and this is partially reflected in our latest average tender price. However, the overall supply side of rough diamonds has been tight for some time and is very likely to remain so for the foreseeable future; we therefore anticipate strong ongoing demand for the high quality Kareevlei parcel of diamonds.
"Following our successful fundraising of last week, management are focused on ramping up our new processing plant, which will see production almost double to 36,000-43,000 carats. 2022 will be a transformational year and we look forward to the road ahead amid positive market fundamentals."
Large stones recovered in 2022
| Date sold 2022 | Carats | Value USD000 | Value per carat USD000 |
| March | 19.3 | 116 | 6 |
| | 12.7 | 128 | 10 |
| | 8.7 | 104 | 12 |
| | 6.6 | 63 | 9.5 |
| |
|
|
|
| February | 11.9 | 211 | 17.6 |
| | 8.3 | 96 | 8.3 |
| | 13.6 | 78 | 5.8 |
| | 7.5 | 75 | 10 |
| January | 6.8 | 63 | 9.3 |
| Top 5 sales 2021 | | | |
| August | 58.6 | 585 | 10 |
| August | 21.6 | 268 | 12.4 |
| August | 14.3 | 236 | 16.5 |
| January | 14.8 | 163 | 11 |
| March | 8.4 | 89 | 10.6 |
Note: It is Company policy to announce all stones sold with a value of in excess of USD50k.
ENDS
For further information, please www.bluerockdiamonds.co.uk or contact:
| Mike Houston David Facey, FD | BlueRock Diamonds PLC
| m.houston@bluerockdiamonds.co.uk dfacey@bluerockdiamonds.co.uk |
| Stuart Gledhill Caroline Rowe | SP Angel NOMAD & Broker | Tel: +44 (0)20 3470 0470 |
| Isabel de Salis Oonagh Reidy
| St Brides Partners Ltd Financial PR
| info@stbridespartners.co.uk
|
Notes to editors:
BlueRock Diamonds is an AIM-listed diamond producer which operates the Kareevlei Diamond Mine near Kimberley in South Africa which produces diamonds of exceptional quality and ranks in the top ten in the world in terms of average value per carat. The Kareevlei licence area covers 3,000 hectares and hosts five known diamondiferous kimberlite pipes with a combined inferred resource of 10.4 million tonnes / 516,200 carats (February 2021); based on its planned production of 1 million tonnes per annum, this provides a minimum 10-year life of mine.
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