Conakry: Stellar Diamonds, the mining company focused on sites in West Africa has reported that processing of the first kimberlite sample from the Baoulé trial mining project in Guinea has yielded two gen quality diamonds of over 5 carats, one stone more than 3 cts and three diamonds of over 1 carat. It said that this “suggests that Baoulé has a large stone size distribution”.

From the first sample of ore processed the company recovered 196 cts at a grade of 17 ct per hundred tons (cpht), which was above the earlier reported grade of 13 cpht.

This, in addition to the 33.2 ct recovered from lower-grade material during the commissioning of the plant. Total recovered carats to date to 228.77 ct.

The statement said that approximately 57% of the diamonds recovered were of gem quality, with 43% being industrial or near gem quality.

The company’s chief executive Karl Smithson said: “The processing plant, which was commissioned in September, is working well and we will now increase volume throughput over the coming weeks. It is our intention to make a diamond export in November and thus begin our cycle of exports and sales for the duration of the trial mining period.”

The statement also added that Stellar was restricting staff travel and had banned visits to the epicentres of the Ebola virus in Guinea. “The company continues to monitor the situation very closely to ensure the continued well-being of all employees and that of the local communities,” it added.