By: Creamer media

The company in July announced its plans to reduce costs. This included the scaling back of operations at the mine.

In an October 30 trading update to shareholders, the diamond miner says it recovered 22 268 ct of diamonds during the September quarter. This represents a 5% decrease on the 23 547 ct recovered in the June quarter.

Recoveries for the September quarter included three special diamonds weighing more than 100 ct each. A 319 ct diamond was also recovered after the end of the quarter, bringing the total number of these special diamonds recovered to eight for the year-to-date.

Gem Diamonds sold 22 830 ct of diamonds for the third quarter – a 5% quarter-on-quarter decrease.

The revenue generated for the quarter increased by 9% quarter-on-quarter to $25.7-million, with the average price being $1 124/ct, compared with the average price of $980/ct received in the second quarter.

The highest price achieved in the third quarter was $33 785/ct for a 32.01 ct white diamond.