• Home
• About
• Renard Project
• Investor Relations
• Diamond Fundamentals
• Social Responsibility
• Exploration Projects

The Renard Diamond Project Feasibility Study outlines a combined open pit and underground mine plan and was prepared by SNC Lavalin Inc. with contributions from AMEC Americas Ltd (“AMEC”) for the design of the underground mine and diamond processing plant and G Mining Services Inc. (“G Mining”) for open pit mine design and cash flow analysis. Additional technical elements of the study have been authored by Roche Ltd., Golder Associates Ltd. and Itasca Consulting Canada Inc. A Mineral Reserve has been declared by AMEC and G Mining based on the National Instrument (“NI”) 43-101 compliant Mineral Resource authored by GeoStrat Consulting Inc. and published by Stornoway on January 24, 2011, and a diamond valuation conducted by WWW International Diamond Consultants Ltd. (“WWW”) and published by Stornoway on June 13, 2011.

Highlights of the study are as follows:

• Base case estimates of Net Present Value (“NPV”) of C$672 million at a 7% discount rate and Internal Rate of Return (“IRR”) of 18.7% before taxes and mining duties, and C$376 million and 14.9% after taxes and mining duties.


• Probable Mineral Reserves of 18.0 million carats representing 23.0 million tonnes at an average grade of 78 carats per hundred tonnes (“cpht”), after allowance for mining dilution and ore recovery, and at a weighted average diamond valuation of US$180/carat.


• 11 year reserve-based mine life with maximum diamond production peaking at 2.1 million carats/annum, and averaging 1.7 million carats/annum life of mine.


• Gross revenue, in real terms, of C$4,112 million and operating cash flow of C$2,677 million.


• Initial estimated capital cost of C$802 million, including contingencies.


• An estimated operating cost averaging C$54.71/tonne ($70.27/carat) life of mine, and yielding an operating margin of 68%.

The study displays strong base case economics, high cash flow and mining margins, and a well constrained risk profile on each important operating, geotechnical and environmental parameter. The capital and operating cost estimates are rigourous and realistic.

Of particular importance is the fact that Stornoway has achieved strong economics on the basis of our 18 million carat Mineral Reserve alone. Renard is a project distinguished by a very long resource tail. The Feasiblity Study does not incorporate the mining of approximately 17 million carats of Inferred Mineral Resources, or the approximately 23 to 48 million carats of non-resource exploration upside that we have identified at the project. A large quantity of this material is contained within the scope of the infrastructure costed within the Feasibility Study, such as the shaft and the processed kimberlite containment facility, and its ultimate addition to the mine plan can be expected to be accretive to the project’s valuation and to greatly lengthen the mine life. For now, in accordance with the requirements of 43-101, it is outside the economic scope of the current study. However, in planning for the future, our mine design and mine permitting process already contemplates this larger scale project, and we are looking forward with optimism to many years of diamond mining in Quebec.

Presented in the study is a development schedule that anticipates first ore into the plant by July 2015, and the declaration of commercial production by January 1st, 2016 following a plant commissioning and ramp up period. This schedule pre-supposes first vehicle access to the mine site by way of the Route 167 Extension by the middle of 2013.

Recent related Press Releases

View archived Press Releases

Related VIDEO