| Mon 21 Dec 2009, 15:30 | | RDI - Rockwell Provides Operational Update |
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RDI
RDI
RDI - Rockwell Provides Operational Update
ROCKWELL DIAMONDS INCORPORATED
(A company incorporated in accordance with the laws of British Columbia, Canada)
(Incorporation number BCO354545)
(Formerly Rockwell Ventures Inc.)
(South African registration number: 2007/031582/10)
Share code on the JSE Limited: RDI & ISIN: CA77434W1032
Share code on the TSX: RDI & CUSIP Number: 77434W103
Share code on the OTCBB: RDIAF
ROCKWELL PROVIDES OPERATIONAL UPDATE
ANNOUNCES RECEIPT OF TWO SAFETY AWARDS
December 21, 2009, Vancouver, B.C. - Rockwell Diamonds Inc. ("Rockwell" or the
"Company") (TSX: RDI; JSE: RDI; OTCBB: RDIAF) provides an update on its
operations, with a particular focus on the period September 1, 2009 to November
30, 2009 (third quarter fiscal 2010). Management is also pleased to announce
that the operations have won two safety awards.
Operational Update - Improved plant throughput and diamond recoveries
The restructuring and efficiency improvement initiatives implemented by Rockwell
in early 2009 continue to have a positive impact on the Company`s operations at
Saxendrift, Klipdam, and Wouterspan. Wouterspan remains on care and
maintenance. Further improvements are expected from ongoing re-engineering
initiatives at the Company`s processing plants. In addition, recruitment of
additional personnel with engineering skills as well as senior operations
management is providing benefit to operating systems and processing plant. The
Company continues to focus on better mining efficiency, improved production and
lower operating costs.
As a result of its initiatives to improve production and cut costs Rockwell
operations exceeded the average annual target of 2,500 carats per month from the
three mines during the dry winter period of June to September 2009. Previously,
the Company was achieving similar production from four mines. In spite of an
extremely strong South African Rand relative to the US Dollar, cash operating
costs have remained below the target range of US$3 - 3.50 per tonne.
Summer rainfall has caused a slight decrease in production in October, November,
and December relative to the production achieved in the dry winter months (April
- September). Heavy summer rains in mid-October, and rainfall in excess of 150
mm (approximately 6 in.) over a three day period in early November in the Holpan
and Klipdam area north of Kimberley impeded the work of heavy equipment and
processing plants. Production is likely to improve during the drier mid-summer
period and into the 2010 winter period.
During December 2008 and January 2009, the operations had an extended closure
due to the impact of the credit crunch and steep fall in diamond prices. As a
result of this extended closure, there was a sharp decline in production for the
last quarter of fiscal 2009. This year the Company will continue with operations
through December 2009 and January 2010. Agreements between organized labour and
management have facilitated a brief closure over the Christmas and New Year
period thereby minimizing production decreases.
Diamond production data for each of Rockwell`s three currently active sites for
the current fiscal year is presented in the table below, followed by a brief
operational summary for each mine.
Carat Production
Holpan Klipdam Saxendrift Total*
March 150.00 498.99 492.40 1,141.42
April 322.94 529.30 294.77 1,147.01
May 513.45 579.55 639.79 1,732.80
June 512.10 1,029.16 748.73 2,289.99
July 831.98 1,430.90 565.56 2,836.71
August 815.59 1,201.01 792.13 2,809.23
September 869.13 1,073.42 1,068.16 3,010.71
October 460.93 553.95 1,283.59 2,300.47
November 372.80 930.22 1,089.58 2,392.60
* total include carats recovered from Wouterspan.
Saxendrift mine - The Saxendrift wet rotary pan plant continues to show steady
improvement in throughput; its operating cost structure is the lowest of the
three mines. During the last quarter, a new high volume (100 tonne) tailings
discard bin was erected on site which will lead to additional de-bottlenecking.
The bin was built in-house with oversight from an independent consulting
engineering firm.
Improvements to the layout of the open pit mining areas have helped maintain
throughput and the operating cost structure. In calendar 2010, the Company
plans to replace the existing scrubber units with more robust higher volume
units manufactured in Johannesburg to further increase efficiencies and reduce
costs. The scrubber units removed from Saxendrift will be retained for future
use at other less geologically abrasive deposits in the Vaal River environment.
Saxendrift is consistently meeting its target throughput of 240,000 tonnes of
gravel per month and achieved 297,973 tonnes in November 2009.
Klipdam mine - Klipdam is currently the focus of an audit process to identify
bottlenecks and inefficiency. Improvements have been made to the site layout to
better cope with run-off from heavy rain. New and improved screening systems are
being investigated to deal with wet ground, particularly the clay rich
Rooikoppie deposits during the wetter summer months.
Holpan mine - This operation is receiving on-going attention from the
engineering and maintenance team to improve throughput and lower costs. During
November, the alignment and replacement of gearboxes as part of the normal
planned maintenance program on the large 500 tonne per hour Holpan scrubber was
completed, resulting in approximately four days of lost production. As noted
previously, progressive improvement in throughput and lowering of operating
costs at the Holpan operation are particularly important, given that the Dense
Media Separation plant is a higher cost operating unit than the rotary pan
plants at the Company`s other operations.
Wouterspan mine - In February 2009, this mine was placed on care and
maintenance. Over the past three months, the Company has initiated planning and
design drawing and costing of the planned modernization of the Wouterspan pan
plant. The intention is to implement a phased program to replace the existing
12-pan rotary pan plant with 4 to 8 larger (18-foot) rotary pans that would
emulate the throughput and operating costs of the Saxendrift plant.
Operating costs - Since March 2009, Rockwell has consistently maintained its
cash operating costs at the bottom end of its target range of US$3 - $3.50 per
tonne. The Saxendrift mine has shown encouragingly low (less than US$3 per
tonne) operating costs. The Company`s operating teams are working to ensure that
similar results can be achieved at its other operations. Production and cost
figures are tabulated below.
Production and Costs
Production Carats Cash Costs* Unit Costs Unit Total Unit Cash
Tonnes (ZAR) (ZAR/Tonne) Costs Cost
2009 (US$/Tonne) (US$/Tonne)
March 370,509 1,141 10,580,191 47.67 $4.77 $2.86
April 407,159 1,147 9,239,682 42.50 $4.65 $2.57
May 462,488 1,733 9,769,494 38.24 $4.58 $2.34
June 441,031 2,290 10,506,602 43.23 $5.51 $3.22
July 564,041 2,836 12,484,466 27.74 $3.78 $2.77
August 515,365 2,809 12,327,417 24.29 $4.08 $3.04
Septembe 597,594 3,011 10,938,465 18.21 $3.54 $2.69
r
October 569,391 2,300 13,561,305 23.82 $3.89 $3.18
November 547,980 2,392 10,670,165 19.47 $4.31 $2.59
* July, August, September and October numbers include the Westbank payment
holiday.
Rockwell Operations recognized through Safety Awards
In October, Rockwell was awarded first place in the Northern Cape Mine Managers
Safety Competition run by the Department of Minerals and Resources. This award
was for Open Cast Mines with more than 200 employees and there were 12 competing
mining companies from diamond, iron ore, manganese, lime and cement mining
operations.
In addition, Rockwell Safety Teams from each of its operating mine participated
in the Northern Cape Mine Mangers Safety Competition, held at the Idwala Lime
operations at Limeacres and including most of the large and mid-tier mining
companies operating in the minerals rich Northern Cape Province. Rockwell Safety
Teams performed exceptionally well. Company employee MacDonald Matabogi was
awarded the prestigious Gold Medal and trophy for the best overall safety
representative.
President and CEO John Bristow stated "Over the past twelve months changes and
enhancements to our operating procedures, plants, and business model, and focus
on cost reductions, training to increase productivity, improved communication in
tandem with efforts to emphasize safety and health in the workplace have led to
increased production, reduced costs, and enhanced our excellent safety
performance. We are proud of the achievements of our Safety Teams, safety
representatives, employees and management through 2009, and we continue to focus
on ensuring that the Company is operating at better than break-even point and is
positioned to return to profit and grow as diamond prices improve.
We wish all our shareholders an enjoyable Festive Season and a successful 2010,
and wish to acknowledge the support that Rockwell has received from shareholders
and stakeholders through 2009."
For further details on Rockwell Diamonds Inc., please visit the Company`s
website at www.rockwelldiamonds.com or contact Investor Services at (604) 684-
6365 or within North America at 1-800-667-2114.
John Bristow
President and CEO
No regulatory authority has approved or disapproved the information contained in
this news release.
Forward Looking Statements
This release includes certain statements that may be deemed "forward-looking
statements". Other than statements of historical fact all statements in this
release that address future production, reserve or resource potential,
exploration drilling, exploitation activities and events or developments that
each Company expects are forward-looking statements. Although the Company
believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are based
on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of future
performance and actual results or developments may differ materially from those
in the forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to
differ materially from those in forward-looking statements include market
prices, exploitation and exploration successes, changes in and the effect of
government policies regarding mining and natural resource exploration and
exploitation, availability of capital and financing, geopolitical uncertainty
and political and economic instability, and general economic, and market or
business conditions. Investors are cautioned that any such statements are not
guarantees of future performance and that actual results or developments may
differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. For
more information on Rockwell, Investors should review Rockwell`s annual Form 20-
F filing with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission www.sec.com
and the Company`s home jurisdiction filings that are available at www.sedar.com
Johannesburg
21 December 2009
Sponsor
Sasfin Capital
(A division of Sasfin Bank Ltd)
Date: 21/12/2009 15:30:01 Produced by the JSE SENS Department.
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