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Johannesburg - London and JSE listed DiamondCorp [JSE:DMC] on Monday reported a narrowing in its net loss to £3.5m for the year ended December 2012 from a loss of £4.2m the previous year.
It reported a headline loss per share of 1.22 pence from a loss of 2.43p a year ago.
The company’s primary asset is the Lace Diamond Mine near Kroonstad in South Africa’s Free State province. The group was awarded the mining right to the Lace property in 2009.
During the past year the company completed a financing package for development of the first block cave at the Lace Mine.
The finance package was finalised in the first week of January 2013 with the signing of $6m in term loan funds from Tiffany & Co’s subsidiary Laurelton Diamonds‚ wich allowed underground development to resume at Lace.
It also received a R220m loan from SA’s Industrial Development Corporation‚ available for draw down when required in Q3 2013.
Chief Executive Paul Loudon said in a statement that although a lot of hard work remains to be done‚ the company is looking forward to an exciting future for Lace and the company.
DiamondCorp intends re-commissioning the Lace plant before the middle of 2013 with kimberlite tailings and will then test the market in the second half of the year with sales of the diamonds it recovers.
Depending on the prices achieved‚ the company will assess if it is worth increasing tailings production ahead of kimberlite being mined from underground in 2014.
The company noted that world markets remain volatile and demand for luxury goods has been dampened as a consequence. Nonetheless‚ diamond prices appear to have stabilised in the first few months of 2013‚ and market indicators look like they are starting to see early signs of recovery in the US which remains the world's biggest market for diamonds.
Diamond prices are expected to remain volatile until such time as a sustained economic recovery is achieved.
