Diamcor Recovers First +10.8 Ct Diamond at Krone-Endora

(IDEX Online News) – Diamcor Mining Inc. says it has recovered a very good quality 11.23-carat diamond from its Krone-Endora at Venetia project in South Africa.

The find occurred during recent processing of material in the +1.0mm to -12.0mm size fraction through the previously announced expanded quarrying and in-field screening operations at the project.

"The recovery of a diamond of this size and quality further confirms the potential of the Project to produce large quality diamonds," said Dean Taylor, president and chief executive officer of Diamcor. "To have it occur so quickly based on the limited processing of material mainly up to 12.0mm in size is also very promising."

In addition, approximately 2,464 carats have also been recovered from the limited processing completed, with the largest non-“special” (+10.8 carat) diamond being recorded at 8.66 carats.

The company said that very heavy rainfall in the first quarter of the year, leading to flooding and damage in the area, including Krone-Endora, had resulted in some delays and in some cases had caused normal mining operations to be suspended.

At the Krone-Endora mine site, stockpiles of larger material in the +12.0mm size fractions targeted for processing in the first quarter could not be processed effectively through the in-quarry dry-screening plant, and the processing of other size material was also greatly limited due to these rains.     

"While the significant rains delayed our efforts to advance the Project as quickly as desired and limited our ability to process material at levels targeted in the short-term, operations are now returning to normal", said Taylor. "We're now focusing on ramping up operations and are excited about the prospect of processing larger size material."

Diamcor Mining Inc. has a long-term strategic alliance with Tiffany & Co.