Firestone moves Liqhobong Diamond Mine into production ramp-up

21st Oct 2016 10:54

(ShareCast News) - Firestone Diamonds confirms the recovery of the first diamonds at the Liqhobong Diamong Mine as the Project moves into its production ramp-up phase.It anticipated the ramp-up process to to recover up to 1 million carats a year would take at least six months."It is extremely exciting to have reached the end of the construction phase and to start the next chapter of the Liqhobong Diamond Mine," said chief executive Stuart Brown."I commend the team for completing construction ahead of revised schedule and achieving over three million man hours without a lost time injury - a truly exceptional accomplishment."The project remained within the original $185.4m budget and at 30 September, about $157m, or 83%, had been spent.At about 13:10 BST, shares in AIM-quoted Firestone were up 1.82% to 56p.