Wrap Text
Production report on Middle Orange River region
ROCKWELL DIAMONDS INCORPORATED
(A company incorporated in accordance with the laws of British
Columbia, Canada)
(Incorporation number BCO354545)
(Formerly Rockwell Ventures Inc.)
(South African registration number: 2007/031582/10)
Share code on the JSE Limited: RDI ISIN: CA77434W2022
Share code on the TSX: RDI CUSIP Number: 77434W103
Share code on the OTCBB: RDIAF
Rockwell progresses towards strategy to grow production in Middle
Orange River region
August 29, 2013 Vancouver, BC – Rockwell Diamonds Inc. ("Rockwell" or
the "Company") (TSX: RDI; JSE: RDI; OTCBB: RDIAF) is pleased to
provide an update on its core strategy to increase monthly production
volumes in the Middle Orange River region to 500,000m3 per month. The
objective of the strategy is to improve quarterly earnings through
the increased recovery of large, high value diamonds. The
construction of two new mines, namely Saxendrift Hill Complex (in
production) and Niewejaarskraal (in production ramp up) is a key part
of the new plan. Total capital investment of $3.6 million for the
development of these two mines was internally funded. As part of the
strategy Rockwell has also successfully commissioned and operated the
more efficient Bulk X-ray technology in both a concentration and
recovery mode thus obviating the need for lesser efficient and more
costly pans or DMS technology, making it one of the first South
African diamond mining companies to do so.
Commenting on the Company’s progress in the Middle Orange River
region, James Campbell, CEO and President said:
“Rockwell has recently delivered on several notable milestones
towards our medium term core business strategy to increase alluvial
production volumes in the Middle Orange River region to 500,000m3 per
month. We have developed two new, internally funded mines,
demonstrating our capability to bring new production capacity on line
by making use of fit-for-purpose technology that is suited to each
deposit’s specific geology and by chiefly re-using existing assets.
These will bring our average monthly production volumes on the Middle
Orange to 360,000m3, putting us on track towards our medium term
target and also leading to improved quarterly earnings.”
“Saxendrift Hill Complex is an expansion of the operations at our
flagship Saxendrift Mine, where we continue to deliver a strong
performance. At this new mine, which is now in production, we
pioneered the implementation of the Bulk X-ray technology in the full
production environment, where we are using it in both a concentration
and recovery mode. We are delighted with these results, which showed
a 40% increase in grade when we processed Saxendrift Extension
gravels in parallel through the Bulk X-ray and the pan plant system
at Saxendrift during the month of July 2013.”
“We have commissioned the DMS plant at Niewejaarskraal and are
ramping up production, which we started within ten weeks of receiving
board approval for this project. While Bulk X-ray technology will be
considered for future upgrades at Niewejaarskraal, we based the first
phase on DMS technology. This was due to the long lead-time
associated with implementing Bulk X-Ray technology there, which could
not be considered for the current phase. As such, we have developed
proven blue prints for processing plants that can be deployed as we
grow our production profile across our existing inventory of
properties in the Middle Orange River region or through acquisition.”
“Our investments to grow Middle Orange production also have socio-
economic benefits for this region which is impacted by high
unemployment. All but eight of the workforce from Klipdam accepted to
transfer to Niewejaarskraal, enabling us not only to preserve 220
jobs, including the CML Operations staff complement, but also
retaining key skills to quickly bring the new mine on stream.
Starting the new mine at the Saxendrift Hill Complex led to the
creation of 85 new jobs. Our future growth plans include options to
further increase the production capacity at Niewejaarskraal and we
are also evaluating the next steps at Wouterspan, both of which would
have flow through benefits for employment in the region.”
Saxendrift Hill Complex
Production ramp up at the new Saxendrift Hill Complex mine is
practically complete with the plant now running at close to nameplate
capacity. The processing plant is based on two Bourevestnik X-Ray
bulk sorters and two single particle sorters with a monthly
processing capacity of 100,000m3.
In order to more fully evaluate the effectiveness of the Bulk X-ray
technology compared to traditional DMS and pan plants, gravels from
the Saxendrift Extension project were processed in parallel through
the Bulk X-ray system as well as Saxendrift’s traditional pan plant
(with Flowsort X-ray machines) for the month of July 2013. Results
for July showed that the Bulk X-ray plant achieved a grade that was
at least 40% higher than the conventional plant, including two rough
diamonds exceeding 30 carats.
The Saxendrift Hill Complex plant is projected to have 30% lower unit
processing costs than the pan plant, providing further commercial
benefits. The Bulk X-Ray plant also has a lower environmental
footprint with lower water consumption and power requirements than
the traditional processing plants. The capital investment in the
project was paid back with gross revenue generated from the sales of
diamonds recovered during the first two months of production.
Niewejaarskraal
At Niewejaarskraal, production commissioning of the first phase of
the new plant started during July 2013 within ten weeks of the
project being approved. The first diamonds were recovered, including
two stones exceeding 20 carats. High diamond values have compensated
for slightly lower than anticipated grades for the initial gravels
that have been processed during commissioning, due to a greater
variability in the Rooikoppie particle size distribution than was
outlined in the previous operators’ sampling reports. However, the
plant efficiency was confirmed by reprocessing plant tailings through
the Bulk X-ray system, with no diamonds being recovered.
The plant is constructed using elements of the existing DMS plant
that had been on care and maintenance at Niewejaarskraal since 2007.
The next phase of commissioning entails processing a mix of Palaeo
and Rooikoppie gravels which commenced during the third week of
August when the first blast was carried out to access the main Palaeo
deposit that is expected to be the mainstay of operations at
Niewejaarskraal. The Company has standardised a BCOS (Bottom Cutoff
Size) of 5 mm for the Middle Orange resources, as disclosed in an
updated NI 43-101 Technical Statement that has been filled on SEDAR.
For further information on Rockwell and its operations in South
Africa, please contact
James Campbell
CEO
+27 (0)83 457 3724
Stéphanie Leclercq
Investor Relations
+27 (0)83 307 7587
About Rockwell Diamonds:
Rockwell is engaged in the business of operating and developing
alluvial diamond deposits, with a goal to become a mid-tier diamond
production company. The Company has three existing operations, which
it is progressively optimizing, two development projects and a
pipeline of earlier stage properties with future development
potential.
Rockwell also evaluates merger and acquisition opportunities which
have the potential to expand its mineral resources and production
profile and would provide accretive value to the Company.
No regulatory authority has approved or disapproved the information
contained in this news release.
Forward Looking Statements
Except for statements of historical fact, this news release contains
certain "forward-looking information" within the meaning of
applicable securities law. Forward-looking information is frequently
characterized by words such as "plan", "expect", "project", "intend",
"believe", "anticipate", "estimate" and other similar words, or
statements that certain events or conditions "may" or "will" occur.
Although the Company believes the expectations expressed in such
forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such
statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual
results or developments may differ materially from those in the
forward-looking statements.
Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from
those in forward-looking statements include uncertainties and costs
related to exploration and development activities, such as those
related to determining whether mineral resources exist on a property;
uncertainties related to expected production rates, timing of
production and cash and total costs of production and milling;
uncertainties related to the ability to obtain necessary licenses,
permits, electricity, surface rights and title for development
projects; operating and technical difficulties in connection with
mining development activities; uncertainties related to the accuracy
of our mineral resource estimates and our estimates of future
production and future cash and total costs of production and
diminishing quantities or grades if mineral resources; uncertainties
related to unexpected judicial or regulatory procedures or changes
in, and the effects of, the laws, regulations and government policies
affecting our mining operations; changes in general economic
conditions, the financial markets and the demand and market price for
mineral commodities such and diesel fuel, steel, concrete,
electricity, and other forms of energy, mining equipment, and
fluctuations in exchange rates, particularly with respect to the
value of the US dollar, Canadian dollar and South African Rand;
changes in accounting policies and methods that we use to report our
financial condition, including uncertainties associated with critical
accounting assumptions and estimates; environmental issues and
liabilities associated with mining and processing; geopolitical
uncertainty and political and economic instability in countries in
which we operate; and labour strikes, work stoppages, or other
interruptions to, or difficulties in, the employment of labour in
markets in which we operate our mines, or environmental hazards,
industrial accidents or other events or occurrences, including third
party interference that interrupt operation of our mines or
development projects.
For further information on Rockwell, Investors should review
Rockwell's home jurisdiction filings that are available at
www.sedar.com.
Information Concerning Estimates of Measured, Indicated and Inferred
Resources
This news release uses the terms “measured resources”, "indicated
resources" and "inferred resources". Northern Dynasty Minerals Ltd.
advises investors that although these terms are recognized and
required by Canadian regulations (under National Instrument 43-101
Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects), the U.S. Securities
and Exchange Commission does not recognize them. Investors are
cautioned not to assume that any part or all of the mineral deposits
in these categories will ever be converted into reserves. In
addition, "inferred resources" have a great amount of uncertainty as
to their existence, and economic and legal feasibility. It cannot be
assumed that all or any part of an Inferred Mineral Resource will
ever be upgraded to a higher category. Under Canadian rules,
estimates of Inferred Mineral Resources may not form the basis of
feasibility or pre-feasibility studies, or economic studies except
for Preliminary Assessment as defined under 43-101. Investors are
cautioned not to assume that part or all of an inferred resource
exists, or is economically or legally mineable.
29 August 2013
Johannesburg
Sponsor
Sasfin Capital (a division of Sasfin Bank Limited)
Date: 29/08/2013 02:30:00 Produced by the JSE SENS Department. The SENS service is an information dissemination service administered by the JSE Limited ('JSE').
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