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DiamondCorp plc announces FINAL RESULTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2015

  • As underground development continued at the 74% owned Lace Mine in South Africa, DiamondCorp`s net loss for 2015 was £2.41 million (2014: loss of £3.25m).

  • At 31st December 2015, total assets had risen to £34.99m (2014: £32.41m) and cash on hand stood at £1.78m (2014: £2.60m) while a further £2.06m gross was received from the second tranche of a placing in January 2016.

  • During 2015, our consultants worked on a new Technical Report and Resources Statement for the Lace Mine using actual mine data, drilling and sampling results. The total Resource in the main Lace pipe is now estimated at 38.69 million tonnes to the 920m level and is open at depth.

  • Studies on diamond distribution together with financial modelling have shown that the optimum lower screen size for the processing plant is 1.25mm and at this cut-off, the Resource is estimated to contain 9.39 million carats of diamonds.

  • Within the Resource, 2.21 million tonnes of kimberlite in the UK4 Block has been classified as a Mineral Reserve between the 230-370m levels. This is currently being mined while development continues to establish the first block cave on the 500m level.

  • In November 2015, the 400 tonne per hour underground conveyor belt system from the first production level at Lace was commissioned. This belt is capable of delivering ore at double the current front end capacity of the 1.2 million tonne per year processing plant.

  • There were no delays for industrial action at Lace during 2015 and last February, Lace Diamond Mines signed a four year wage agreement with the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (AMCU) based around 8% annual increases in basic salary for most categories of workers.

  • In early April 2016, the Company closed the sale of a total of 8,648 carats of diamonds (6,247cts from underground) marking the first sale of diamonds from the Lace kimberlite since 1931. The average price received for these kimberlite diamonds was US$175/ct which compared to the estimate of $164/ct used in the new Resource Statement.

  • Our joint venture cutting operation in Johannesburg continues to illustrate the quality of Lace stones and the ability to add value to specials while the recent tender included the first purple diamond that sold for $6,363/ct.

  • Demand and prices for diamonds fell in 2015 in line with a strong US$ and falls in other commodity prices while the industry was impacted by financing issues and destocking through the pipeline. In recent months, demand and prices for rough and polished stones have been improving with signs that the cycle has bottomed. We expect a further recovery in prices later in the year.