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Dwyka will hold a 40% equity interest in the project, which will operate under the Superkolong banner. Dwyka expects the US$2.9-million operation to be funded via bank loans. The project should generate more than US$1 million in profit during its first year; Dwyka’s share of which will be determined once financing is completed.
Construction of the processing plant is ongoing, with production slated to begin in November. The deal calls for guaranteed diamond feed grades and tonnages, as well as set diamond prices. The partners expect feed tonnage to rapidly increase as the plant hits its stride.
De Beers’ Kimberley mines comprise five kimberlite pipes: De Beers, Kimberley, Bultfontein, Dutoitspan, and Wesselton. The latter three remain in operation, while the Kimberley mine closed in 1914 and the De Beers mine was shuttered in 1990.
In August 2004, De Beers opened a 20,000-tonne-per-day combined treatment plant to allow for the extraction of diamonds from the tailings dumps, which were previously considered uneconomical to mine. The operation’s diamond production reached in excess of 2 million carats in 2004 from 593,630 carats in 1995.
De Beers also upgraded Kimberley’s old plant, and in doing so, extended Kimberley’s life until at least 2011.
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