Rockwell Diamonds sells over 3,000 carats in Q2 for over $7.0m in sales

Rockwell Diamonds (TSE:RDI) announced Monday it made revenues of over $7.0 million in its second quarter, on the sale of more than 3,000 carats from its three currently active operations in South Africa.

In total, the diamond miner produced 3,233 carats, which it sold at an average price of $2,187 per carat, for a total of $7.05 million in sales.

At the Saxendrift mine, located on the north bank of the Middle Orange River, Rockwell produced 1,740 carats, which it sold at approximately USD $3,186 per carat for $5.54 million in revenues.

Located to the northeast of Saxendrift, the Klipdam diamond field produced 1,456 carats, selling at a price of $1,030 per carat, for $1.50 million in revenues, while the Holpan mine produced 27 carats, sold at $176 per carat, for $4,755 in revenues.

CEO James Campbell said: "We are pleased that the high quality of our current production has supported higher selling prices.

"While the underlying diamond market has increased by some 25% per carat for diamonds such as those typically produced by Rockwell in the past twelve months, our average price for the quarter has more than doubled.

"This is a clear demonstration that the diamonds which we have presented for sale are of a superior quality and in high demand."

Despite slow production in June and July, Rockwell said its operations in August recovered strongly. On August 2, in particular, the company reported that it recovered 373 carats from its Saxendrift mine alone - a single-day record.

Saxendrift also produced 32 stones weighing more than 10 carats, of which 11 stones exceeded 20 carats, the company said. These stones have been passed into the company’s beneficiation joint venture with the Steinmetz Diamond Group, which delivers revenues for Rockwell’s stones that exceed 2.8 carats.

“We produced 46 stones exceeding 10 carats from our two operational mines, which included 11 rough stones weighing more than 20 carats. This is an indication that our diamond value management focus, which prioritizes the production of quality tons, is starting to pay off,” added Campbell.

Rockwell said it will disclose further details of its revenue stream and earnings when it releases its second quarter financial report around October 17.

Investors took profit as the Vancouver, B.C.-based company's shares shed 4.17% in Toronto, to $0.46 as of 2:09 pm EDT.