Its got only 2.5 cpht LOL, BUT .....
Who cares if FALC is termed a "low grade deposit". It's gonna be the size of the stones that set the price.
JOHANNESBURG --The discovery of four huge, flawless diamonds has left the owners of the world’s highest diamond mine feeling on top of the world. The four stones with a combined weight of 366 carats were found in the course of six days between January 21 through January 27 at Letšeng diamond mine, in the Maluti Mountains of Lesotho. The stones, which the company says are of the highest quality, are expected to fetch around US$6 million.
“There is a world-wide shortage of large high-quality stones so $6-million might even be a little conservative,” Keith Whitelock, the mine’s chief executive, said.
Letšeng, which was mined by De Beers between 1977 and 1982, was reopened last year by a South African consortium made up of Motodzi Investments, a black empowered investment house, and JCI, a South African resource investment company, which together own 68.4 percent of the mine. It has already declared four large diamonds of 95, 123, 124 and 215 carats respectively since the end of 2003.
Despite having the lowest grade in the world, less than 2.5 carats per hundred tons, the mine remains profitable because of the high incidence of large ten-carat plus stones, and high per-carat prices.
JCI director Brett Kebble said today, “We invested in Letseng because the mine has a solid history of producing high-quality stones which fetch a premium on the world market. The regularity with which they are appearing is better than we predicted and we may have to revise our production forecasts if the trend continues.”
