LONDON — Paragon Diamond’s confidence has been boosted after it received positive results from a first sample sent from its newly awarded Motete Dyke licence in Lesotho.
Some 49 diamonds, including seven stones above 0.5 mm, were recovered from the 24kg sample, the firm said today.
The largest diamond was more than 1.18 mm, it noted.
Apart from a single brown diamond, all others (48) are classified as white, transparent and are distributed between dodecahedra (41 percent), octahedral (35 percent), other crystal forms (22 percent) and fragments (two percent).
Stephen Grimmer, managing director said: “This initial result serves to confirm the diamondiferous characteristics of the Motete dyke system and indicates the potential quality of the contained diamonds.
“The result gives us confidence as we embark on a more comprehensive exploration and sampling programme during Q1 2012.”
The results mean that more than two diamonds per kilogram have been recovered from the sample.
The firm said that an additional 900 kg of samples have been sent for micro-diamond analysis with results expected in coming weeks.
Last month, the firm reported it had been awarded the Motete Dyke licence, which covers a 23 square km area.
The licence allows Paragon to explore the area for at least two years.
The company told investors that the dyke has been traced continuously over at least one kilometre. It lies around 10km north east of the company’s flagship Lemphane kimberlite project, where it is currently carrying out a bulk sampling programme.
Additionally, it is around 23 kilometres from Gem Diamonds’ Letseng mine.
— proactiveinvestors
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