News ReleaseWhat a dilemma, too much kimberlite to analyse, reults better in the new pipes than the Star and then having to decide between a few pipes which one should go first. Then they have to lend the JV two Bauers for mini-bulk sampling to try and speed up the pre-feas on the Orion to the level of the Star by March 31/07.
Here is a bit of info that will put a couple of things in perspective.
Regards,
The Grizz
Some stats for reference
An estimated 5000 kimberlite and lamproite pipes have been identified in the world, of which between 300 and 500 contain diamonds. Of this number, less than 50 have proven to be commercial, and 25 have become major producers. Of total global production, about 50% are low-value industrial, 35% near-gem, and 15% gem-quality. The number of stones larger than one carat (ct) produced each year is very small and, according to De Beers, only about 400,000 stones weighing over one ct are produced annually (average of 1.34 ct per stone)
Diamonds mined over the past decade have averaged about US$10/ct in Australia and US$18-$30/ct in Zaire. At the other end of the scale, Namibia, which produces less than 2% by weight of world production, has a very high proportion (+95%) of gem-quality diamonds averaging close to US$300/ct. Canada also produces a high percentage of the world's gem-quality diamonds.
Grade (the weight of diamonds expressed as carats per tonne (ct/t) of ore) varies widely from one mine to another. However, the grade generally falls between 0.3 and 1.3 ct/t. Grades as low as 0.05 ct/t and as high as 7.0 ct/t have been exploited. The value of the ore per tonne equals the grade times the average value per carat of all the individual diamonds.
Each diamond mine contains diamonds that are specific to the mine. The stones are classified according to their weight, shape, color, and clarity.
One carat is equivalent to 0.2 grams. A carat is normally divided into 100 points. Because larger diamonds are rare, a one-carat diamond will cost more than a cluster of 20 diamonds weighing a total of one carat.