South Africa’s Limpopo province is home to one of the most promising diamond projects in the world, the Krone-Endora at Venetia project, owned by Canadian miner Diamcor Mining. After facing various challenges in 2023, the company is now ready to resume its focus on advancing and expanding the project this year.
The Krone-Endora project is located next to De Beers’ Venetia mine, the largest diamond mine in South Africa, which is nearing the end of its open-pit life and transitioning to underground mining. Diamcor’s project has the potential to recover diamonds that have been displaced from Venetia by natural erosion and deposited on its property.
The company’s primary objectives for this year are to continue trial mining and optimize operational efficiencies, with ancillary diamond recoveries and sales revenue supporting the advancement of the project’s recommended work programs. Diamcor will also conduct additional bulk sampling on key areas of interest within the remaining 85% of the property to determine the extent and location of Venetia-derived material.
Moreover, the company plans to finalize the planned additions to the project’s processing plant and final recovery system, which will enable increased processing volumes and revenues, as well as reduce long-term costs.
Diamcor believes that its project offers a unique value proposition in the diamond industry, as it can provide non-conflict natural rough diamonds to the world market. Unlike their lab-grown counterparts, natural diamonds are treasured for their rarity, provenance, and timeless allure, and with limited supplies of natural diamonds remaining, the company expects the demand and prices for its diamonds to increase in the future.
The diamond industry underwent significant changes in 2023, as it adapted to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, geopolitical tensions, consumer spending habits, and supply-demand dynamics. The industry also faced the challenge of the G7 and EU sanctions on rough diamonds originating from Russia, which accounts for 30% of global production, following its invasion of Ukraine.
The sanctions, which took effect on January 1 this year, have created a shortage of rough diamonds in the market, especially of smaller, lower-value goods that are typically produced by Russia’s state-owned diamond company Alrosa. This has benefited other diamond producers, such as Diamcor, which can offer alternative sources of natural diamonds to the trade and consumers.
The industry also witnessed a recovery in diamond prices in the second half of 2023, after a period of excess inventory and downward pressure in the first half. The recovery was aided by the reduction of new rough diamond sales by the world’s largest producers, De Beers and Alrosa, as well as the temporary suspension of rough diamond imports by India, the world’s largest cutting and polishing center, from October 15 to December 15.
The company said that the industry demonstrated its ability to implement proactive changes in 2023 to strengthen itself for 2024, and reaffirmed its confidence in the long-term prospects of the Krone-Endora project.
Diamcor also said that it will continue to identify and evaluate opportunities that demonstrate the potential for additional near-term production of natural gem-quality rough diamonds from non-conflict areas to support the company’s future growth and shareholder value.
The company’s vision is to become a leading producer of natural diamonds in South Africa and beyond while adhering to the highest standards of environmental and social responsibility.
Source: Mining Weekly
