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Gold/Mining/Energy : Winspear Resources -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: ddl who wrote (11531)	1/11/1999 12:34:00 PM
From: teevee	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 26850

Hi Denis, First of all, world production of diamond in 1991 stood at 105 million carats valued at $5.2 billion. Of this, only 15% consisted of gem quality which accounted for 75% of of the gross value of production. In 1991, this worked out to a world wide average of $200/carat for gem grade rough. The value per tonne at a particular deposit will vary with the percentage of gem AND the size distribution (higher percentage of large gem stones is better). Second, we are dealing with type II kimberlite at Snap Lake. Reported grades for Type II kimberlite vary from .27 to 3 carats per tonne. The percentage of gem diamond is generally higher with 50% to 95% gem quality(excepting Finsch at 25% which is a pipe rather than a dyke). Interestingly, with respect to type I kimberlite, the deposits with the highest reported percentage of gem diamond (50%) are three deposits operated by DeBeers (Koffiefontein, Bultfontein and Jwaneng). What would be very telling is the distribution of sizes for the 18 diamonds "greater than 1 carat in size" but smaller than the 3 largest stones reported by Winspear. I suspect that the diamond size distribution curve is even more favorable than at say Bellsbank for example. Once again, I hope the above helps clarify why I have stated that IMO, DeBeers must be very very interested in seeing the actual parcel of diamond with respect to the size distribution. DeBeers knows better than anyone else just how important this is. George Tromp made an excellent and early post with respect to estimating grade at Snap Lake and BEFORE the valuation were announced. I don't have the post number handy, but it would also provide valuable insight for you. regards, teevee