Vancouver: Rockwell Diamonds increased the volumes of gravel processed from its operations in South Africa by 57 percent to 1.4-million cubic metres during the quarter ended August 31, resulting in a 37 percent increase in output to 9,581 ct.

The company’s chief executive James Campbell said the second-quarter production results revealed continued benefits flowing from the group’s focus on its Middle Orange River (MOR) region.

“As our volumes have increased, so we have benefited from a higher average stone size, which was in excess of 4.5 carats in the second quarter,” he said.

“We produced two gem-quality 100 ct-plus diamonds in the second quarter, which brings the total to eight over-100 ct stones recovered from our operations in the last 12 months – another tangible indicator of the success of our focused MOR strategy.”

Meanwhile, the group sales leaped 58 percent to 8,864 ct at an average of $1,489/ct, thanks to the recovery of a 104 ct cape yellow diamond and a 117 ct commercial yellow stone.

Rockwell’s five royalty mining contractors at Tirisano also delivered positive returns for the group. Production and sales from these partners increased 66 percent and 70 percent, respectively. Total revenue generated by the contractors from diamond sales increased 121 percent to $4.2 million, with Rockwell’s royalty income amounting to $523,000.