Miner Paragon Diamonds on Thursday unveiled a study showing that the viability of a project in south-east Africa has improved.

Paragon said an independent report based on 300 carats of diamonds recovered from its Lemphane kimberlite pipe project in Lesotho supported improved economics of the scheme ahead of the start of the first phase of production in the near to mid-term.

The analysis showed the group could expect to find a 100-plus carat diamond from Lemphane per million tonnes processed.

It indicated projected diamond values of between $930 per carat and $1,025 per carat, to be verified during the initial production stage.

The miner added that in the second phase of production, it would expect to find larger stones potentially worth around $1,500 per carat.

Paragon's Managing Director Stephen Grimmer said: "Lemphane has always shown potential to produce large, exceptional diamonds."

Shares in Paragon were unchanged at 3.65p at 14:24 in London.

PW

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