Lerala Mine revival will need expatriates � Kimberley
Staff Writer | Thursday August 27, 2015 18:00
ASX-listed Kimberley Diamonds’ overall project schedule for the A$14.6-million (P105 million) Lerala diamond mine, remains on track, with diamond production to start in February next year.
On Monday, the company stated that while it would endeavour to source and employ local personnel, the Lerala mine would likely require a number of skilled expatriates.
As a result, a permanent accommodation camp would need to be built as part of the refurbishment of the mine which has been closed since 2013.
General Counsel at Kimberley Diamonds, Holly Taylor said they would initially focus on recruiting people from areas close to the mine.
“In certain selected positions we may find that we cannot recruit the specific skills locally. This will be determined as we go through the recruitment process.
“If we do have to recruit specialised skills from outside Botswana, we will focus on training local personnel to ultimately grow into these positions,” he said.
In July, Kimberley Diamonds awarded a lump sum turnkey contract for the plant modification work at Lerala, which includes the refurbishment of the existing camp facilities. Consulmet would be paid some A$9.83-million (P70.7 million) to undertake the plant modifications, which are scheduled for completion by February.
The Lerala project has a resource of 10.3-million tonnes, at an average grade of 31.5 carats per hundred tonnes, equating to some 3.3-million carats. Once in production, the mine is forecast to have a life of some seven years, treating 1.4-million tonnes of ore a year and producing an average of 357 000 carats per year.
The company, which bought the mine in the central district in 2013 from UK-based Mantle Diamonds, recently announced that it would be undertaking a non-renounceable pro-rata rights issue to raise nearly A$10-million (P77.2 million).
The company had targeted yearly output of 400,000 carats annually from Lerala over the next six years.
The mine has five diamondiferous kimberlite pipes totalling 6.66 hectares, a 15-year mining licence and a 230-tonne per hour processing and recovery facility.
Citing a weak diamond market, Mantle placed Lerala Mine under care-and-maintenance in July 2012, after only five months in operation, throwing about 100 people out of work.
Between February and July 2012, the mine produced 73,403 carats from 0.26 million tonnes of ore, before being decommissioned.
Lerala is estimated to have a remaining mine life of seven years and an estimated remaining resource of 12.18 million tonnes, at 25.52 carats a tonne.