JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – A leaner TSX- and JSE-listed Rockwell Diamonds was almost back to premeltdown diamond production levels, but with one mine fewer and costs down at $3/t, Rockwell Diamonds CEO Dr John Bristow said on Wednesday.

Bristow – who reiterated his company’s intention to embark on a capital-raising exercise and to use some of the cash raised to embark on a process of consolidation of alluvial diamond-miners – told Mining Weekly Online that a stronger, more robust and less speculative diamond industry was emerging from the ashes of the global credit crisis.

“We’re seeing some light,” Bristow said, his “right-sized” Middle Orange River operations and efficient Saxendrift plant holding the fort, while the more-expensive Wouterspan is kept on care-and-maintenance, awaiting a cost-reduction makeover.

Rockwell retrenched 140 employees and released 40 contractors after the downturn hit.

It is now down to 450 employees, from the 600-plus at the peak.

“We’ve done a lot of restructuring and we’ve got our cost structures down nicely,” Bristow commented.

Until the meltdown in September last year, Rockwell was averaging $2 000/ct.

Current sales, Bristow reported, were at a level of 2 000 ct a month, but into a different market: “It’s more the old traditional door-to-door selling.”

While there was still movement in the 2 ct to10 ct range, the strongest demand was in the 1 ct to 5 ct range used to adorn engagement rings and the like.

On the outlook for consolidation, Bristow said: “We see good opportunities in the alluvial space. We have spare capacity in our yellow earthmoving equipment and we would like to put that to use.”

The additional capital that the company intended to raise would also provide it with headroom to meet any unforeseen perturbation, the latest being the swine flu, which was causing a few market ripples.

But, overall, Bristow said that he was witnessing the emergence of a healthier and more robust industry with fewer, stronger players.