DIAMONDS: Stornoway to suspend open pit mining

[caption id="attachment_1003727865" align="aligncenter" width="469"] The Renard 2 underground mine supplies 89% of the ore to the diamond recovery plant at the Renard mine in the James Bay region. (Image: Stornoway Diamond Corp.)[/caption] QUEBEC – Stornoway Diamond Corp. of Montreal has decided to suspend mining at the Renard 65 open pit mining at its Renard diamond project 350 km north of Chibougamau. Instead, the Renard 65 stockpile will be processed until the second quarter of 2020. During Q1 2019, mill feed came from the Renard 2 underground mine (89%), the Renard 65 open pit (6%), and the Renard 3 underground development (5%). The company said first quarter recovery was 444,562 carats recovered from processing 582,613 tonnes of ore at an average grade of 76 cpht. Carat recoveries decreased 8% compared to Q4 2018 because of mechanical issues at the plant and very cold weather during the first two months of the year. Stornoway sold 429,506 carats in the three months ended March 31, 2019, compared to 312,242 carats during the same period a year earlier. This year, the average price per carat was $110 for gross proceeds of $47 million. More information is available at www.StornowayDiamonds.com.