Gem Diamonds Rolls Out Another Rough over 100ct. 

Gem Diamonds has recovered a 122.20-carat rough from its Letšeng mine in Lesotho, the third stone greater than 100 carats in the last month and its 11th so far this year. 

The miner discovered the high-quality, type II diamond on September 1, it said Thursday. On August 23, the company found a 129.71-carat rough, while on August 3 it unearthed a 145.55-carat stone. Other diamonds the miner extracted during the year included a 212.49-carat rough in May and two type IIa stones in April weighing 169.15 and 118.74 carats. 

The wealth of large-stone recoveries is due to operational initiatives Gem Diamonds implemented at its processing plant, which have led to the return of a higher proportion of large rough stones, the company explained in its latest results. This follows several years in which the miner, known for unearthing large stones from the deposit, saw the total number of diamonds over 100 carats shrink. In 2022 and 2023, the company produced only four diamonds of that caliber, while in 2021, it retrieved six. The total so far this year puts Gem Diamonds on track to meet, or exceed, the 16 stones over 100 carats it found in 2020. 

In August, the miner raised its production and sales volume forecast for the full year, thanks to the higher number of large rough. It expects output to reach 98,000 to 101,000 carats, and sales volume to be between 100,000 and 103,000 carats. Meanwhile, profit for the first half of the year came to $5.5 million, versus $1.5 million for the same period a year ago. Revenue rose 9% to $78 million.

Image: The 122.20-carat rough. (Gem Diamonds)