Diamondcorp Share Discussion Threads

[jaf1948] 01/2/2016 10:13

NORTHLAND CAPITAL PARTNERS VIEW: Mr Ellis is an investment banker with over twenty years’ experience in London and US. The latter half of his career has been centred on all financial aspects of the diamond supply chain and he has represented and advised industry banks, cutters & polishers, jewellery manufacturers and retailers. His appointment should fill the skills gap left by Mr Allen’s retirement with his significant knowledge base of the downstream diamond industry.

[ged5] 01/2/2016 09:36

New director appointed. Maybe he'll buy loads of shares!!

Christopher Ellis joined Consensus as a Managing Director in April 2006 following a 20 year career in investment banking, financial advisory services and operational consulting in the United Kingdom and the United States. From May 2008 through July 2011, Mr. Ellis served as President of Consensus’ U.S. operations. In July 2011, he moved back to his native London and opened Consensus Advisors Ltd., which is authorised by the U.K. Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).

As a principal of Consensus in the U.S., he managed engagements with the firm’s domestic and international clients in sectors including food service, retail, consumer products, manufacturing and distribution, telecommunications infrastructure and alternative energy. In recent years he’s been extensively involved with the diamond and jewelry industry, carrying out multiple advisory, restructuring and transactional engagements within the sector. He also has an extensive background within the restaurant industry, and maintains various ongoing advisory relationships with operators, lenders and investors in the space.

Since opening in London, Mr. Ellis has carried out complex strategic advisory projects for European companies, lenders and investors. He also provides bridging support for U.S. clients active in or entering the European market.

He is FCA authorised, a US Bankruptcy Court Examiner, and FINRA Series 7, 63 and 79 certified.



DFinn Ltd seems to have been started last year.

[ged5] 29/1/2016 15:19

There was no need to do that JAF but thank you all the same. Looks like a little bit of buying today.

Level 2 is 2v1
Wins and Cantor on the bid at 6.75 Shore on the offer at 7.25. No change since the open.

Darcon that would be a very tight deadline but good if it happens. It's only a week away!

[darcon] 29/1/2016 13:59

If the updated resource statement is good then it would probably be good for the company to release it before Mining Indaba

[jaf1948] 29/1/2016 12:37

Ged,

I gave you a name-check on the LSE board for finding that dollar / pound error.

[iicb] 28/1/2016 18:02

That is unless they come up with a smaller resource this time!

[ged5] 27/1/2016 13:08

Well the gap got filled. Now will we kick on to 8p after a small retrace before moving back up to 9.5 and beyond when the resource statement is "signed and published, hopefully within the next few weeks"?

[ged5] 27/1/2016 09:21

Thanks for the link. All publicity welcome.

Now we've had some news it seems pointless going through Valency's post. Just two further points.

I've added the link to the X-Ray sorter to the header.

The other point is this paragraph:-

"DCP’s current share capital of 445,406,247 ordinary shares x 39p = $173.7million which in light of the $500million paid for Ekati with a paltry 7 years life remaining at exceptionally high operational cost & low comparable margins, places Lace at unrealistic bargain levels. "

As mentioned earlier the mcap should be in sterling not dollars. Also I find it strange to compare with a sale of a mine with almost 8 times the probable reserves of Lace. Also there are undeveloped deposits at Ekati which extend the life of mine. The only favourable comparison is the costs and we are all aware that Lace is a low cost mine.

Back to yesterday's news.

We've been asking for news about diamonds and at last we got some - thanks DCP. At least we've got some and we're only just starting on the upper K4 block.

A couple of links about emerald cut diamonds:-

[loobrush] 26/1/2016 18:34

Fingers crossed-Jackpot stone coming soon ?

[liquid millionaire] 26/1/2016 17:28

Dear Proactive Investor,
DiamondCorp was a shining highlight among Tuesday’s small caps.

It said that production is on track to achieve 30,000 tonnes per month by July, and it is hoping for a new resource statement at its Lace mine in South Africa in the coming weeks.

[hpcg] 26/1/2016 17:07

The larger stones should be in the statistical models already, but their importance as revenue outside of parcel sales can't be overstated. As we discussed before a very large jackpot stone would pay for the company, but that is very much gamblers upside. Diamond prices firming is very important for the share price.

[loobrush] 26/1/2016 15:05

SP ANGEL (brokers) target is currently 13.25p, should gradually rise to that level-however a good find could get us there sooner.

[darcon] 26/1/2016 14:52

Great answer!

[ridicule] 26/1/2016 14:23

Darcon
Take the vital statistice 36:23:36 of one of the most beautifuls woman on earth + the allure of the eyes x the level of sultryness over the square root of the desire to get her into bed factored by 10 as an assessment of the suitors wealth. Then take 50% of the fiscal sum you arrive at.

[wisecat2] 26/1/2016 14:09

De Beers Sells $540 Million of Diamonds, Twice Last Sale's Level

De Beers sold $540 million of diamonds in its first sale of the year, more than double the amount at the biggest producer’s previous offering.
Polished diamond prices have firmed after output cuts and a “positive̶1; holiday season in the U.S., the unit of London-based Anglo American Plc said in a statement on Tuesday. The sale compares with the $248 million reaped in 2015’s final offering, De Beers said.Prices are at six-year lows after slumping 18 percent in 2015, the most since the 2008 global financial crisis, according to data from WWW International Diamond Consultants. Demand in China, the biggest market after the U.S., has shrunk along with a slowing economy and crackdown on corruption that’s discouraged open displays of wealth. A credit crunch in the diamond industry also reduced available funds to purchase diamonds.
De Beers and Russia’s Alrosa PJSC have reacted to slowing demand by cutting supply. De Beers, which didn’t previously reveal the value of its auctions, lowered its output target three times last year. It cut prices as much as 7 percent at the 2016 sale, people familiar with the process said last week. The company didn’t provide prices in its statement today.
“This is a relatively good start for the year,” Investec Plc said in a note. “This is a big auction and signals greater transparency.”

[darcon] 26/1/2016 11:13

How much is a 50% profit share of an 8 carat emerald cut stone going to be? Any ideas?

[hpcg] 26/1/2016 10:22

The market likes the news thus far today, and that graph ticking up is all that matters.

[ged5] 26/1/2016 09:37

DiamondCorp (LON:DCP): Lace update
Market Cap: £28m; Current Price: 6.25p

Development on track for full production in July-16
 Production at the Upper K4 Block remains on schedule to achieve full production of 30,000t per month by July-16.
 The conveyor belt system is up and running and mining of the Upper K4 kimberlite is proceeding without any ground condition issues.
 7,449cts have been recovered from bulk testing, three stones larger than 10cts have been recovered the largest was a 22.11ct H coloured stone sold to a beneficiation joint venture for US$5,000ct.
 The resources update was delayed by the Christmas shutdown at processing laboratories in Johannesburg. All micro diamond data has now been now delivered to the resource consultant and the resource report is expected in the next few weeks.
 Forecasts, rating and price target remain under review.
NORTHLAND CAPITAL PARTNERS VIEW: The development of the Lace Mine continues to track in line with expectations. Full production from the Upper K4 kimberlite block expected by July-16 and will be a major milestone for the Company. DiamondCorp expects the first sale of the diamonds recovered during the development of the Lace Diamond Mine to occur within the next few months, once management is satisfied that prices will not be adversely impacted by the sale of sub-optimal parcel size.

[jaf1948] 26/1/2016 07:53

Yes, tiger, the company are totally to blame for the 2 week shutdown over Christmas - they should, of course, have got the diamonds there sooner. What total rubbish they are.

I would have thought that the sentence 'Production ramp up from the Upper K4 (UK4) Block continues on schedule to achieve full production of 30,000 tonnes per month by July' implies that the monthly figures are those given in the Decembers Investors presentation, but what do I know.

But thank you for your quarterly whinge.

[tiger60] 26/1/2016 07:47

Funny i thought christmas came the same time every year! They cant blame that. Also conveniiently dropped the monthly numbers up until July.

[liquid millionaire] 26/1/2016 07:35

DiamondCorp plc

AIM share code: DCP & JSE share code: DMC
ISIN: GB00B183ZC46
(Incorporated in England and Wales)
(Registration number 05400982)
(SA company registration number 2007/031444/10)

("DiamondCorp", "the Group" or "the Company")

LACE DIAMOND MINE PROJECT UPDATE

DiamondCorp, the Southern African diamond mining, development and exploration company, is pleased to provide the following update on the underground development at the Lace diamond mine in the Free State province of South Africa.


Highlights

· Production ramp up from the Upper K4 (UK4) Block continues on schedule to achieve full production of 30,000 tonnes per month by July.
· The conveyor belt system is operating to design specification and mining of the UK4 is proceeding without any issues with respect to ground conditions.
· The diamonds recovered from initial processing are meeting expectations in terms of colour and quality, including three stones larger than 10 carats, the largest of which was a 22.11 carat H coloured stone.
· This diamond has been sold into the Company's South African beneficiation joint venture for $5000 per carat with a view to recovering an 8 carat emerald cut stone after cutting and polishing.
· To date, a total of 7,449 carats of diamonds have been accumulated from bulk testing and initial production (see photograph on our website at www.diamondcorp.plc.uk).
· Diamond market sentiment has started 2016 in a reasonably positive mood as supply management by the major producers appears to have resulted in renewed demand for rough diamonds in certain size categories.
· The Company's resource statement update was impacted by the Christmas shutdown by processing laboratories in Johannesburg. All microdiamond data required to complete the statement has now been delivered to the Company's consultant and the document is awaiting his final input.


Production

During the three months ended 31 December 2015, the Company's 74%-owned subsidiary Lace Diamond Mines (Pty) Limited (LDM) continued with the implementation of the revised development schedule and budget for the ramp up of commercial production from underground kimberlite mining at the Lace mine.

The 400 tonne per hour conveyor belt system was commissioned in November and production ramp up from the UK4 Block commenced in December. The conveyor belt system is operating to design capacity and mining is progressing without any issues with respect to ground conditions. Following a two-week Christmas shutdown, mining has resumed in January and remains on target to achieve production of 30,000 tonnes per month by July.

During tailings re-treatment, management determined that considerable operational efficiencies and water savings could be achieved in the Lace processing plant by increasing the bottom screen size from 1.00 mm to 1.25 mm. The change in bottom screen size has been applied to kimberlite processing, which will result in a reduced recovered grade but a higher average carat value for the diamonds recovered, as the smallest diamonds are the lowest value stones. A final decision on the bottom screen size will be made following receipt of the microdiamond analysis being undertaken as part of the resource statement update and the first few diamond sales are concluded, which will provide pricing data for the different diamond size categories. Analysis of this data will allow the plant to be optimised for management's key financial metric which is operating margin per tonne.

To date, management is pleased with the quality and colour of the diamonds being recovered, including three stones greater than 10 carats. One of the diamonds is an H coloured stone of 22.11 carats which management has decided to beneficiate locally. The stone has been sold into the Company's beneficiation joint venture for $5000 per carat with a view to recovering an 8 carat emerald cut diamond after cutting and polishing. When the polished diamond is sold, the Company will receive a 50% share of the cutting and polishing profit in addition to the price of the rough.


Diamond market and sales

In addition to the sale of the 22.11 carat stone, the Company last week prepared to export 3,577 carats of diamonds recovered from development and bulk testing activities in the second half of 2015. (A photograph of the parcel before sorting has been uploaded to the Company's website.) The diamonds will be sorted in Antwerp ahead of the commencement of diamond sales in the next few months. To date a total of 7,449 carats have been produced towards the first sale. Accumulation will continue until management is satisfied that prices will not be adversely impacted by the sale of sub-optimal parcel sizes.

At the same time, management is carefully monitoring sentiment in the rough diamond market, which has commenced the year in a slightly more positive mood than the latter part of 2015. Supply management by the major producers has resulted in shortages in certain size categories resulting in improved buying interest and prices since December, particularly for smaller goods. These improved market conditions are not expected to be sustained so management has adopted an attitude of flexibility with respect to timing and size of the commencement of sales.


Resource statement update

During the period, all the drilling, bulk testing and microdiamond sampling requested by the Company's independent consultants MPH Consulting Limited for finalisation of an update to the Company's resource statement was completed. Unfortunately, the extended Christmas holiday shutdown in South Africa meant that the laboratory analysis of the microdiamond samples was not completed until January. This data has now been forwarded to the Company's microdiamond consultant Dr Johan Ferreira for analysis. Dr Ferreira is a former geostatistician for De Beers and has 28 years experience in diamond resource evaluation. The resource statement update is in its final draft and MPH is awaiting Dr Ferreira's report for inclusion before it can be signed and published, hopefully within the next few weeks.


Corporate finance

In December, the Company arranged an institutional placing of shares in two tranches which together raised gross proceeds of £4 million. The placing was completed in January. These funds topped up the Company's working capital requirements following agreement with the Company's major lender, the Industrial Development Corporation of South Africa, to continue to capitalise interest on loan repayments throughout 2016.