Shear recovered a total of about 3,500 carats from 358 tons after the first ten full days of processing.
For over the next ten months, the company will perform operations on the processing of the stockpiles.
Shear CEO Julie Lassonde said it is incredibly gratifying for the entire Shear team to see the first recovered diamonds from Jericho since its shutdown in early 2008.
"We are seeing daily improvements in tonnage processed as well as recoveries as we continue to ramp up during the re-commissioning of the recovery portion of the diamond recovery plant," Lassonde said.
Live commissioning of the recently-modified Jericho diamond recovery plant is underway on a day-shift basis only while Shear ramps up production.
Shear has achieved a maximum processing rate of 50 tons over a 12-hour shift and expects to reach about 80 tons/day with an average recovery rate of about 10cpt as it moves to 24-hour operations in the coming weeks.
Shear is a Canadian-based company focused on diamond exploration and development in Canada’s North.
