Shares digital

Diamonex (DON:AIM) 16p

Maiden production begins in June at the Lerala diamond project in Botswana. The mine is forecast to generate annual earnings of $10 million (at EBITDA level) over a ten-year mine life. The project is viewed by analysts as very small – which goes some way to explaining why the Bostwana government didn’t take any of the 50% stake it is entitled to in the mine. In its defence, Diamonex claims its planned 330,000 carats annual production level ranks it as the second biggest mid-cap diamond producer after Petra Diamonds (PDL:AIM). In the US, Diamonex has applied for a permit to bulk sample a diamond target on the State Line of Wyoming and Colorado. It has an option on the surface and mineral rights for a previously explored kimberlite pipe, where 40,000 diamonds were recovered in the 1980s.