VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Dec. 14, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Southstone Minerals Limited (“Southstone” or the “Company”) (TSX.V – SML) is pleased to provide a production and operational update for the period 1 September 2020 to 30 November 2020 (Q1 2021) on Oena Diamond Mine and Farm Kareepan Mine located in the Republic of South Africa.
Oena Diamond Mine, Republic of South Africa
Production at the Oena Diamond Mine during Q1 2021 operated normally. There is one mining contractor on site using four (4) pan plants to process run of mine (“ROM”) material and one Bourevestnik (“BVX”) unit used for diamond recovery. Mining and processing of ROM material totaled 117,630 tonnes from Oena area and 11,560 tonnes from Sandberg area. Diamond production results for Q1 2021:
| | Carats Produced | Number of Diamonds | US $ / carat average |
| Q12021 ROM | 744.5 | 318 | 1,623 |
The Oena Diamond Mine continues to produce large and high-quality diamonds as summarized below.
| Top 9 Diamonds by Value per Carat for Q1 2021 |
| Diamond | Diamond Size (carats) | Sold Price US $ | US $ / carat |
| 1 | 32.22 | $58'289 | $1'809 |
| 2 | 26.34 | $155'000 | $5'885 |
| 3 | 22.33 | $108'000 | $4'837 |
| 4 | 20.58 | $82'000 | $3'984 |
| 5 | 20.11 | $81'084 | $4'032 |
| 6 | 16.92 | $53'100 | $3'138 |
| 7 | 15.62 | $32'500 | $2'081 |
| 8 | 12.83 | $52'850 | $4'119 |
| 9 | 11.65 | $31'118 | $2'670 |
Work at Oena Diamond Mine will pause for the holidays on 15 December 2020 and recommence on 5 January 2021.
Farm Kareepan Contractors Agreement
The Gumrock Joint Venture commenced test pitting on Farm Kareepan Mine in three separate areas and a total of 349 test pits ranging from 1 to 5 meters in depth were completed and mapped. In an area called “Grass Camp” a gravel horizon ranging from 0.3m (meter) to 1.0m in thickness was outlined. Grass Camp is located in very close proximity to what is known as the Bamboes Spruit Run. In late October, bulk sampling commenced at Grass Camp with the installation of a 14-foot rotary pan plant and a total of 21 trenches were dug providing 6035 tonnes of gravel for processing. This area has now been mined out.
Diamond production results from Grass Camp:
| | Carats
Produced | Number of
Diamonds | US $ / carat average | Average stone size |
| Q12021 ROM | 88.72 | 87 | $425 | 1.18 |
Three high value stones were recovered:
| Diamond | Diamond Size (carats) | US $ / carat |
| 1 | 2.88 | $1'612 |
| 2 | 2.92 | $1'170 |
| 3 | 5.69 | $1'400 |
During the test pitting phase another 10 hectares of continuous gravel has been identified in an area called “Cultivation Area” and will be the focus of the ongoing bulk sampling program in Q2. Work on Farm Kareepan will pause for the holidays on 15 December 2020 and recommence on 5 January 2021.
The Board has approved the issuance a total of 200,000 common shares to two non-executive directors at a deemed price of $0.05 per share, which issuance is subject to approval by the TSX.V.
The technical disclosure in this news release has been approved by Terry L. Tucker, P.Geo., Executive Chairman of the Company and a Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101 of the Canadian Securities Administrators.