Fusion Tenders and its partner I. Hennig & Co said over the weekend it has sold all the lots from KAO mine in Lesotho.
The two companies agreed a partnership with Storm Mountain Diamonds (SMD) to market the run-of-mine diamond production of the mine, which is owned by Namakwa Diamonds.
According to a statement, there was a 100 percent sell through of all 64 lots of the KAO production in Lesotho, during a sealed bid tender in Antwerp from the 7th -11th May 2012.
Namakwa said the tender for KAO goods had been moved from South Africa to Antwerp.
“Antwerp remains, in our opinion, the most important trading centre for rough diamonds and despite challenging market conditions we are pleased to have achieved solid prices,” the company’s CEO, Richard Collocott, said.
The KAO diamond mine in Lesotho is the fourth largest individual kimberlite pipe in South Africa and Lesotho (and the only one mining at or near surface).
Operated by Storm Mountain Diamonds and its leading hard-rock mining team, with a proven track record in the construction and development of Lesotho’s leading kimberlite pipes, the KAO mine presents a 189Mt kimberlite resource of c.12.8m carats.
The Kao mine is expected to produce in excess of 200,000 carats per year, making it the largest producer of diamonds in Lesotho.
The KAO rough diamond production was offered by tender in Antwerp via Fusion Alternatives, having taken place from 7th to 10th May 2012.
Nakawa said 16,388 carats were sold at an average selling price of US$395/ct, with an average diamond size of 0.36cts.
The largest diamond sold was 38cts at US$6,668/ct, with an 11ct diamond selling for US$15,020/ct and four diamonds with sizes varying between 6 and 14 carats selling for an average of US$7,100/ct.
The sale realised revenues of c.US$6.47 million, with achieved prices c.17 percent higher than initial estimates. The diamonds sold were sourced predominately from hardrock kimberlite ores.
The KAO production was marketed to the world’s leading diamantaires and was conducted by sealed tender in the Antwerp offices of I. Hennig & Co. Antwerp is the diamond industry’s primary business centre for rough and polished diamond trading.
Fusion Alternatives is a top specialist in operating international Diamond Tenders.
Founded in 1890, I. Hennig & Co. Ltd is the world’s oldest and largest international diamond broking and consulting group. We operate offices and facilities in 8 Diamond centres across 4 continents.
I. Hennig represent the largest group of DTC Sightholders in their dealings with the DTC, the principal rough diamond distribution arm of De Beers Group.
The next Fusion Tender of KAO production will be from the 15 – 21 June, 2012 in Antwerp, the statement said.
Since January 2012, the Group has now sold 49,771 carats from the Kao Mine, realising c.US$13.76m in revenue.