Gem Diamonds Limited said it has sold an exceptional quality 164 carat D colour, Type IIa diamond which was recovered from the Main pipe at the Letšeng mine on 30 April 2013. “This remarkable rough diamond is expected to produce top colour and top clarity polished diamonds and has been sold into a profit sharing arrangement for US$ 9.0 million (US$ 54 911 per carat), whereby the rough price is received upfront,” the company said.  Letšeng Diamonds will benefit further from a significant share of the downstream polished margin from the sale of the polished diamonds.

Gem Diamonds added that at the Letšeng mine, two of the four new secondary and tertiary crushers have been successfully installed into Plant 2, on schedule and on budget, and are operational.  The remaining two crushers are on schedule to be installed before the end of June as previously announced.

It added that further work focussing on reducing diamond damage at Letšeng continues and it is pleasing to report that in addition to the recovery of the 164 carat diamond, a 103 carat diamond was also recovered from the Main pipe during May 2013 and that both diamonds were undamaged. The 103 carat diamond, which is not of the same high quality as the 164 carat diamond, will be sold on the next tender in June.

Gem Diamonds CEO, Clifford Elphick stated: “The recovery and sale of this high quality 164 carat white diamond  reinforces Letšeng’s position as the premier source of exceptional diamonds.”

Gem Diamonds is a leading producer of high value diamonds. The Company owns 70% of the Letšeng mine in Lesotho as well as the Ghaghoo mine, currently in development in Botswana. The Letšeng mine is famous for the production of large, top colour, exceptional white diamonds, making it the highest dollar per carat kimberlite diamond mine in the world. Since Gem Diamonds’ acquisition of Letšeng in 2006, the mine has produced four of the top twenty largest white gem quality diamonds recorded.