Vancouver — Junior diamond hunter Diagem (DGM-V, DGMRF-O) has bought a 9.3-carat pink diamond recovered by an artisanal miner, or garimpeiro, on its Property 370/98 in Mato Grosso state, Brazil.
The company paid the local miner US$445,000 for the stone, described as an “evenly distributed intense pink” with only small inclusions and no internal defects.
The artisanal mining permit on which the diamond was recovered is near the head of the Sao Luiz River in an area of past and current alluvial production.
Diagem is optimistic as the stone was recovered immediately downstream of a recently discovered kimberlite pipe cluster on its Properties 108 and 370/98. The company views the diamond as strong evidence of high-quality stone populations from the plateau where the kimberlites are located.
Discovery of the pipe cluster came after identification of a diamondiferous layer of ash-fall or tuffitic material blanketing the area. A preliminary bulk sample of the material yielded 849 diamonds weighing 155 carats from 235 cubic metres of kimberlitic ash-tuff, giving an average grade of 0.66 carat per cubic metre.
Permits for further, large-scale bulk sampling on Property 370/98 are pending. Diagem is also finalizing a mining concession application for Property 108 to extract diamonds from identified alluvial deposits.
An evaluator of the large pink diamond has recommended the stone be cut as a heart shape with a final weight of about 5 carats. Diagem plans to use the funds from its sale to advance exploration and development.
Shares of Diagem notched up a penny on the news to close at 12 apiece. The company posts a $32-million market capitalization based on its 266.7 million shares outstanding. Its stock has traded in a 52-week range of 7.5-17.5.
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