The Tongo Kimberlite Projectin Sierra Leone has released its first finished parcel of diamonds to the world on Monday. The diamonds, weighing in at 639, has exceeded the expectations of the Stellar Diamonds PLC company.
The kimberlite that is being mined is said to be one of the richest concentrations of valuable gems known to man.
Analyst for Northland Capital Partners, Andrew McGeary stated, “On our recent site visit we saw first-hand the fine quality Tongo diamonds which made up some of this parcel and had expected a good result from this valuation. However, results have exceed our upbeat expectations,”
He also described the first parcel as, “few stand out stones (in terms of size) in this package, compared to the last, which contained a 5 carat diamond, [is] actually a better result than it looks and there is every hope [that] grade and valuation can improve with wider sampling.”
Chief Executive Karl Smithson, of Stellar Diamonds PLC, said of the first batch, “The valuation of the first parcel of diamonds exported from Tongo is excellent at US$191 per carat. Considering that there were no large stones in this parcel, this bodes well for any future rune of mine diamond values.”
The project is nearing the completion of its first phase, at which time Stellar will start the drilling portion of the project. The initial drilling expedition will go as deep as 200 meters.
Along with the promising Tongo project and the rich kimberlite samples being studied in Guinea, the company is looking to grow consistently stronger in the mining industry.