Firestone soars after finding massive diamond at new Lesotho mine

Cecilia Jamasmie | April 5, 2017 | 3:39 am Africa Europe Diamond

Firestone Diamonds believes that the 110 carat gem-quality light yellow diamond confirms the significant potential for larger stones that exists at its Liqhobong mine. (Image courtesy of Firestone Diamond)

Shares in Africa-focused Firestone Diamonds (LON:FDI) shot up in London Wednesday after it announced it had unearthed an 110-carat yellow diamond, it’s biggest find so far, at its newly developed mine in Lesotho.

The company, which is just ramping up production at its Liqhobong operation, said the finding confirmed its belief that the deposit holds large stones.

Investors reacted positively to the news, with the stock climbing as much as 13% early in the day and trading 9.7% higher to 49.10p at 1:38PM GMT.

Firestone spent $185 million building Liqhobong, which boasts over 11 million carats in reserve. The total open pit resource contains over 17 million carats down to 393 metres.

Since production began at Liqhobong in October, and before today’s announcement, the company had recovered 20 stones larger than 10.8 carats, the industry cut off for an exceptional stone, including a 37-carat white diamond.