SML's latest numbersSo I had some time to spare to do some math and looked a little more closely at SML's latest numbers:
1. Since the beginning of the year, there is only one operator working at the mine instead of two.
2. The mine was closed for almost 50% during Q3, and afterwards it was only allowed to operate at 50% capacity.
3. When adjusted for the downtime, Bluedust's output has been steady, and even slightly increasing.
4. Despite this, they still managed to produce over 803 carats during this period. From the information they provided us, we know the total average price per carat was $1957. The 23 largest stones, which were 470 carats in total, were sold for $2.058.048, which translates to ca. $4370/carat. To get an total average of "only" $1957, the rest of the diamonds, which were 333 carats in total, must have been sold for ca. $485k, or $1455/carat. The total sales were therefore $2.5/C$3.4 million.
5. In comparison to that, De Beers on achieves $137/ct - this number is from last year, and during the past few months, diamond prices in general were in free wall, and the large producers were eventually hit the most. This means that even for their worst diamonds, SML recieves more than 10-times the average price per carat. Their good diamonds are sold for more than 100-times the average.
6. The mine is now again allowed to run at 100%. Should ASM's own crew return, the Q4 production numbers could be even more impressive.
Plus since they have the backing of CCML, who are now also the largest shareholder with 20%, and are already profitable, SML may be even able to develop new projects without having to raise any additional capital.
Which is very, very rare for a junior mining company - this would prove once again how well run the company is.