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Southstone Minerals: Oena and Farm Kareepan Diamond Sales – Q2 2021 Report
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, March 30, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Southstone Minerals Limited (“Southstone” or the “Company”) (TSX.V – SML) is pleased to provide
About this update from Southstone Minerals Limited
[{"type":"text","content":" VANCOUVER, British Columbia, March 30, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Southstone Minerals Limited (“Southstone” or the “Company”) (TSX.V – SML) is pleased to provide a production and operational update for the period 1 December 2020 to 28 February 2021 (Q2 2021) on Oena Diamond Mine and Farm Kareepan Mine located in the Republic of South Africa. Oena Diamond Mine, Republic of South Africa Production at the Oena Diamond Mine during Q1 2021 operated at 38% of capacity due to holiday related breaks, COVID related matters and extremely high water in the Orange River which prevented access to the Sandberg area for much of the period. There is currently one mining contractor on site with four pan plants, of which two are currently in operation, to process run of mine (“ROM”) material and one Bourevestnik (“BVX”) unit used for diamond recovery. Mining and processing of ROM material only occurred from Oena area during the period and diamond production results for Q2 2021: Carats Produced Number of Diamonds US $ / carat average Q2 2021 ROM 144.24 94 1,105 The Oena Diamond Mine continues to produce large and high-quality diamonds as summarized below. Top 6 Diamonds by Value per Carat for Q1 2021 Diamond Diamond Size (carats) Sold Price US $ US $ / carat 1 8.47 30'797 3'636 2 7.77 11'027 1'418 3 6.22 20'115 3'233 4 3.78 5'566 1'472 5 3.04 2'439 801 6 2.37 3'103 1'310 Farm Kareepan Contractors Agreement Production at the Gumrock Joint Venture during Q2 2021 operated at <47% pf capacity due to significant delays caused by rain. Further production and reclamation work during the quarter was completed on the Grass Camp. Mining operations were moved to the Cultivated Area where the 14-foot pan was erected. Work in the Cultivated Area was extremely difficult to impossible during the quarter due to heavy rainfall during the latter part of December through to the end of February. Diamond production results for the project are as follows: Carats Produced Number of Diamonds US $ / carat average Average stone size Q2 and Q3 2021ROM 26.36 18 $962 1.18 Two high value stones were recovered: Diamond Diamond Size (carats) Sold Price US $ US $ / carat 1 3.39 $7'711 $2,271 2 3.08 $5'620 $1,823 Carats Produced Number of Diamonds US $ / carat average Life of Project 115.097 105 $493 The Farm Kareepan Agreement has been terminated and...