Mountain Lake digs Klipgat gravels

Alluvial diamond mining has begun at the Klipgat 18 concession in South Africa.

Mountain Lake Resources (MOA-V) reports that its privately owned partner recovered four stones in February from just over 225 tonnes of gravels. The stones had a combined weight of 6.1 carats.

Resources at Klipgat, situated on the Mooi River bank in Transvaal province, stand at 10 million tonnes averaging 1.8 carats per 100 tonnes. Full-scale production will see upwards of 56,000 tonnes of that material treated each month, yielding 12,000 carats annually.

The Klipgat agreement provides Mountain Lake with 15% of the gross proceeds from the sale of any diamonds produced at Klipgat. The remainder will go to the property owner, which doubles as the mining contractor.