Dar Es Salaam: Richland’s partly-owned TanzaniteOne Mining Limited (TML) said it produced 622,551 carats of tanzanite during the third quarter of 2014 down from 810,347 carats recorded a year earlier.

The company said in a statement that it achieved an average grade of 110 carats per tonne up from 108 carats realised during the second quarter of 2013. It said the quality of the tanzanite produced remained low due to the continuing lack of available high-quality production areas accessible for mining as a direct result of continued illegal mining activities, or the damage caused by the illegal mining in the Block C licence area.

However, Richland noted that a government led operation to expel the illegal miners from the southern part of the Block C Merelani mine commenced last September 2014 and was still in place.

“Various government agencies have worked, and continue to work, in conjunction with TML to re-enter the parts of the Block C Merelani mine that were previously taken over by hostile illegal miners from neighbouring blocks,” said Richland.

“Significant progress has been made to date. Infrastructure repair and selective mining has commenced in some sections of CT shaft, which have now been re-entered.” Meanwhile, the company said it accrued $3.1 million in revenue during the period under consideration.