TIDMBRD
RNS Number : 3174L
BlueRock Diamonds PLC
12 January 2021
BlueRock Diamonds PLC / AIM: BRD / Sector: Natural Resources
12 January 2021
BlueRock Diamonds PLC ('BlueRock' or the 'Company')
Q4 & FY 2020 Production Update
Strong results in a challenging year
2021 guidance of in excess of 34,000 carats remains
unchanged
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 its Q4
2020 and FY 2020 production update.
Overview
FY20 FY19 %Var Q4 20 Q4 19 %Var
Tonnes processed
(000) 402 323 25% 113 110 3%
Carats produced 15,371 14,033 10% 4,781 5,121 -7%
Grade 3.8 4.3 -12% 4.24 4.65 -9%
Carats Sold 16,290 12,675 29% 6,807 4,170 63%
Value Per Carat
(USD) 295 415 -29% 263 410 -36%
------------------- ------- ------- ------ ------ ------- -----
DETAILS
Production
Processed tonnes increased by 25% compared with the previous
year, despite the mine being closed due to COVID-19 for a period of
50 days starting on 24 March 2020. Assuming a constant run rate
during the period of closure, the increase over the year would have
been approximately 45%. The increase in Q4 of 34% is lower than
anticipated due to abnormally high and early rains in late 2020
(238mm in December 2020 compared with 70mm in December 2019). These
production increases have been obtained using the old plant and,
therefore, are a remarkable achievement in a very difficult year.
Notably, once the new plant is fully commissioned, the Company's
production profile is expected to be significantly less impacted by
the rainy season.
Carat production has increased by 10%. The lower percentage
increase in the number of carats is a reflection of the reduced
grade. As previously announced, the grade for H1 2020 was
significantly lower than expected as the Company was concentrating
on developing the Main Pit out of KV1 and KV2. Average grade for
the second half was a much improved 4.4 cpht, a slight increase
over the average for FY 2019.
Sales
Carat sales were up significantly over the year reflecting the
increased production and the fact that in 2020 a December sale was
made whereas in 2019 there was no December sale.
Value per carat of USD295 per carat was around the bottom end of
the Company's guidance for 2020 and 26% down on FY 2019, due
largely to the impact of COVID-19 on the marketing chain and the
reduced incidence of higher value diamonds in 2020 compared with
2019. The latter is partly due to the development of the Main Pit,
which required a large tonnage of higher level and near edge ore to
be mined as the Company prepared for the expansion of operations in
2021. The Company estimates that the like for like reduction in
pricing is approximately 10 to 15%, a decent result in what was a
very difficult market environment. In particular, the Company had
to rely upon private sales to a limited number of buyers as the
tender system was not in operation for much of the year.
BlueRock Executive Chairman, Mike Houston, said, "Given the
problems of operating in the COVID-19 world, I am very encouraged
by our outturn for Q4 2020 and the full year as the management team
has delivered in the areas that it can control with production
tonnes and sales carats significantly up on the 2019 figures.
"The fall in the value per carat is unfortunate as it has
reduced the impact of the improved production output, but we are
now seeing signs of recovery in general pricing and early signs of
an increasing incidence of the high value stones.
"A major focus for much of 2020 has been the preparation and
development of our exciting expansion project, which was initially
delayed by the COVID-19 lockdown and then the ongoing impact it had
on the global supply chain.
"The plan to transition to the new operation by running both
plants during Q1 will minimise the disruption on production in
early 2021. Despite having to deal with the ongoing exceptionally
poor weather conditions and, weather permitting, the project is
still expected to be fully commissioned by the end of Q1 but may
push into early Q2. Our guidance for 2021 remains at 850,000 to
1,000,000 tonnes and 34,000 to 46,000 carats.
"On 22 December, we announced a provisional upgrade to
Kareevlei's Resource with tonnage and carats up 43% and 52%
respectively. A Resource Statement remains on track to be released
by the end of January 2021.
"I look forward to updating the market on our progress."
Shareholder conference call
BlueRock will be hosting a shareholder conference in the near
future in line with its commitment to maintaining positive
engagement with its shareholders. Further information regarding
this call will be announced soon.
Market Abuse Regulation (MAR) Disclosure - Certain information
contained in this announcement would have been deemed inside
information for the purposes of Article 7 of Regulation (EU) No
596/2014 until the release of this announcement.
**ENDS**
For further information, please visit BRD's website
www.bluerockdiamonds.co.uk or contact:
BlueRock Diamonds PLC mhouston@bluerockdiamonds.co.uk
Mike Houston dfacey@bluerockdiamonds.co.uk
David Facey, FD
SP Angel (NOMAD and Broker) Tel: +44 (0)20 3470 0470
Stuart Gledhill / Caroline Rowe
---------------------------------
St Brides Partners Ltd (Financial Tel: +44 (0)20 7236 1177
PR)
Isabel de Salis / Cosima Akerman
---------------------------------
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. As at December 2020, provisional
figures based on mined tonnes and carats and not a volumetric
depletion estimated that the remaining Inferred Mineral Resource
from four kimberlite pipes (KV1, KV2, KV3 and KV5) represents a
potential inground number of carats of 513,500.
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