REG - BlueRock DiamondsPLC - Q3 2022 Production Update

Bluerock DiamondsAnnouncement

28/10/2022 16:30

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RNS Number : 5482E  BlueRock Diamonds PLC  28 October 2022

BlueRock Diamonds PLC / AIM: BRD / Sector: Natural Resources

28 October 2022

BlueRock Diamonds PLC ('BlueRock' or the 'Company')

Q3 2022 Production Update

 

BlueRock Diamonds PLC, the AIM listed diamond producer, which owns and
operates the Kareevlei Diamond Mine ('Kareevlei') in the Kimberley region of
South Africa, announces its production update for the 3 months to 30 September
2022 ('Q3 2022') along with an update on its £462,500 Convertible Loan Note
and details of changes to production guidance for the years ending 31 December
2022 and 2023.

 

Overview

 

                           Q3 2022  Q3 2021  % Variation
 Tonnes Produced           195,848  159,867  +22.5
 Grade cpht                2.63     4.81     -45.3
 Carats produced           5,145    7,682    -33.0
 Carats sold               5,475    6,887    -20.5
 Avg. price per carat USD  513      554      -7.4

 

BlueRock CEO, Victor Dingle, said, "In order to adhere to the mining plan
there was a significant increase in activity related to stripping, waste mined
and movement of stockpiles. This should improve the quality of the ore
available to the plant in Q4. Plant production increased 40% over Q2, however
the performance of the plant remains below expectations and rated throughput.
Action is being taken to address this and overcome the bottlenecks and
blockages. From October, only KV2 is being mined in order to assess, at a high
level, the current mining plan, the quality of ore, and the performance of the
plant. This will continue for at least two months while waste and stockpiles
are moved to open further areas for stripping and mining."

 

Guidance

The Company has revised its guidance for 2022 and 2023 to reflect the outcome
of a high-level review undertaken of the production and mining plan and
continued uncertainty over production and grade for the balance of the current
year (where only KV2 will now be mined):

 

                          2022 revised guidance  Previous 2022 guidance  2023 revised guidance  Previous 2023 guidance  2021 actual
 Tonnes processed ('000)  600-700                620-670                 900-1,000              875-970                 516
 Carats produced          20,000 to 22,000       20,000 to 24,000        35,000 to 41,000       35,000 to 41,000        23,497
 Grade                    2.96 to 3.2            3.25 to 3.5             3.7 to 4.1             4.0 to 4.3              4.55
 Value per carat (USD)    500 to 570             500 to 600              500                    500                     470
 Revenue (USDm)           10 to 12.5             10.0 to 14.4            17.5 to 20.5           17.5 to 20.5            10.8

 

Convertible Loan Note

 

Further to the announcement of 14 October 2022 in respect of its £462,500
Convertible Loan Note ("CLN"), which was due to be repaid on 16 October 2022,
negotiations are continuing on a revised repayment arrangement, details of
which will be announced once finalised.

 

BlueRock CEO, Victor Dingle, said, "The guidance was revised based on the
current activity at the mine, the high-level review of the mining plan and the
impact on short-term planned activities at KV2 only. In order to overcome
challenges with processing during the wet season, modifications to the plant,
which may require capital expenditure, are being investigated. The plan is to
ensure that the plant operates at rated capacity as soon as possible, and that
it is not significantly affected by wet material. As this is a work in
progress a final assessment is expected in Q1 2023.

 

"The ZAR 30 million facility from Teichmann South Africa has been fully drawn
down to fund activities at the Kareevlei mine although not all payments have
yet been received and  discussions are in progress to resolve this shortfall
in funds at the Kareevlei level.

 

"The board continues to progress the appointment of additional non-executive
directors to strengthen the board and comply with the board composition as per
the terms of the Relationship Agreement announced on 15 August 2022 as part of
the recent financing."

 

 

The information contained within this announcement is deemed by the Company to
constitute inside information as stipulated under the Market Abuse Regulations
(EU) No. 596/2014 as it forms part of UK domestic law by virtue of the
European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 ('MAR'). Upon the publication of this
announcement via Regulatory Information Service ('RIS'), this inside
information is now considered to be in the public domain.

 

Large stones recovered in 2022

 

 Date sold 2022  Carats  Value    Value per carat

                         USD000   USD000
 September       10.22   123      12
 August          11.62   84       7.2
                 10.02   81       8.1
                 9.04    76       8.4
                 6.77    52       7.6
                 6.88    52       7.5
                 10.35   50       4.8
 July            5.97    55       9
                 7.4     67       9
 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

Note: It is Company policy to announce all stones sold with a value of in
excess of USD50k.

 

**ENDS**

 

For further information, please visit BlueRock's
website www.bluerockdiamonds.co.uk (http://www.bluerockdiamonds.co.uk/)  or
contact:

 

 BlueRock Diamonds

 Victor Dingle, CEO                     v.dingle@bluerock.co.uk
 SP Angel (NOMAD and Broker)

 Stuart Gledhill / Caroline Rowe        Tel: +44 (0)20 3470 0470
 St Brides Partners Ltd (Financial PR)

 Isabel de Salis / Charlotte Page       bluerock@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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