Stornoway Diamond Corporation has achieved commercial production at its Renard mine one month ahead of schedule. Matt Manson, president and CEO of Stornoway, notes that this marks the end of the mine’s capital expense period.
Over 30 days, the mine reached an average processing rate of 4,120 tonnes per day out of a capacity of 6,000 tonnes per day. With this, it broke the 60 per cent mark that signifies commercial production.
Renard began processing ore in July. Stornoway has projected that the mine’s average annual diamond production will be 1.8 million carats for the first ten years, with an average value of $155 per carat.
The first sale of rough diamonds from the mine was held in November in Antwerp, making a total of $7.6 million for 38,913 carats at an average price of $195 per carat. The first quarter of 2017 will see three more sales from the mine.
