TORONTO (miningweekly.com) – TSX- and JSE-listed Rockwell Diamonds on Wednesday announced that it had unearthed a 287 ct diamond, described as being of a tinted white commercial colour and makeable in shape, from its Middle Orange river (MOR) operation in South Africa.

It was the fifth large stone from the resource in three months, which Rockwell said served to reinforce management's decision to focus operations in the MOR region.




The diamond would be sold into the beneficiation joint venture with Steinmetz Diamonds at market value with Rockwell participating equally in the value uplift once it had been polished and sold.

Rockwell CEO and president James Campbell said that it was the second diamond exceeding 200 ct produced by Rockwell in its eight-year history and was one of the largest stones produced in the MOR region in recent times.




The stone was recovered from the Saxendrift Extension property, acquired in March 2012, and followed the recovery of four 100-ct-plus diamonds in September.

“These results show that our plants are correctly geared for the recovery of large diamonds that characterise the MOR region. This is also a strong validation of our strategy to grow our alluvial production volumes to 500 000 m3/m in order to produce large stones more regularly and improve Rockwell's quarterly earnings performance,” he said.

Campbell also noted that at the company’s Saxendrift Hill complex the bulk X-ray operation was performing well with solid results, and at Niewejaarskraal, ramp-up operations were ongoing, with the implementation of an in-field screen.

“We are on track to commission a bulk X-ray system early in 2014, which was procured on a rental basis,” he said.