In a report outlining its guidance for sales and capital and exploration expenditures for fiscal 2018 (ending January 31, 2018), Dominion Diamond Corporation said that it expects its diamond sales to total between $875 and $975 million – a rise of 62% compared to fiscal 2017 sales.
Dominion expects the cash cost of production to be between $70 and $80 per tonne processed and between $35 and $40 per carat produced. The company expects to sell diamonds at an average price of $70-$90 per carat. Combined production at the Ekati mine and the Diavik mine is expected to be between 9.1 and 10 million carats.
According to Dominion, “the diamond market continues to recover from the impact of demonetization in India. The guidance for fiscal 2018 foresees the sale of a higher volume of lower value diamonds that were previously held back from sale due to the weaker market conditions following the demonetization. This is expected to affect the average price per carat sold as well as the number of carats sold”.
