The company has doubled the conveyor belt capacity in a bid to ensure that expansion of production is not constrained by ore transport issue.
DiamondCorp, however, plans to use hauling kimberlite from the Upper K4 Block production level to the tipping point on the conveyor belt until production of block cave begins.
DiamondCorp CEO Paul Loudon said: "Today marks a game changer with respect to the development of the Lace mine as commissioning of the conveyor belts results in an effective ten-fold increase in our capacity to haul ore out from the mine.
"Not only does the conveyor belt provide Lace with the ability to increase development rates, the cost of future development will decrease in the absence of the need for trucks for waste hauling as the underground loaders will now empty their buckets directly onto the end of the conveyor belt which keeps getting extended as the development goes deeper."
Further, the company said that the additional storage dam capacity constructed in 2014 is full and has the capacity to hold enough water to process all kimberlite mining planned for the next one year.
The Lace diamond mine was first mined between 1901 and 1931. About 750,000 carats of diamonds were recovered from Lace during this period.
Although the additional storage dam capacity constructed in 2014 is full, it has the capacity to hold enough water required to process all kimberlite mining planned for the next one year, the company said.
Located near the town of Kroonstad in the region of Free State, in South Africa, the Lace diamond mine is operated by DiamondCorp with 74% stake while the remaining 26% stake is held by Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) Partners, which include Sphere Investments and Shanduka Resources.
Image: First kimberlite development from UK4 Block to stockpile by conveyor belt. Photo: Photograph courtesy of DiamondCorp plc.
