910ct. Stone Fuels Gem Diamonds Sales

RAPAPORT... Gem Diamonds' revenue nearly tripled in the first quarteramid strong demand for its rough and the sale of the fifth-largest diamond inhistory. Revenue surged 174% year on year to $106.2 million for thethree months ending March 31, the miner said Thursday. The company sold 32,412carats from its Let??eng mine inLesotho across two tenders during the period. In March, the company sold the 910-carat, D-color, type IIaLesotho Legend for $40 million, or $43,912per carat. It also earned $3.7 million, or $56,028 per carat, from thesale of a 66.27-carat diamond, and sold a further 14 diamonds for more than $1million each, it said. As a result, the company's overall average price leaped98% to $3,276 per carat for the quarter. Production from Let??engjumped 32% to 33,526 carats, with the miner recovering seven diamonds largerthan 100 carats during the period, including the Lesotho Legend. "It is encouraging to see the improvement in the frequencyof large-diamond recoveries during the period," said Gem Diamonds CEO Clifford Elphick. "Themarket for Let??eng's high-quality diamonds has remained robust over theperiod." Gem Diamonds owns 70% of the Let??eng mine, with the state holdingthe remaining shares. Last week, the Lesotho government announced its intentionto renew the miner's lease on Let??eng until 2034. Gem Diamonds is planning to offload the Ghaghoo mine inBotswana, its other deposit, and has begun a formal sales process for the asset.