Rockwell Diamonds likely to cut jobs

JOHANNESBURG – Rockwell Diamonds is likely to cut jobs at its Wouterspan operations, the mid-tier diamond mining and exploration company said yesterday.

‘Global economic conditions have brought diamond prices under pressure. In this environment, we continue to take steps to improve operational efficiencies and maintain the competitiveness of the company.
‘This has included the difficult decision to reduce our workforce,’ said President and CEO John Bristow in a statement.
He said the company was planning to restructure its Middle Orange River operations to reduce costs and increase production and efficiencies.
It had been decided to focus on ramping up production at the new Saxendrift plant in February and to suspend operations at the lower grade nearby Wouterspan operation.
‘The proposed suspension of operations at Wouterspan is, unfortunately, likely to result in the reduction of staff at this operation and to this end negotiations have been initiated with the company’s employees and the National Union of Mineworkers,’ Bristow said.
The longer term plan was to upgrade the Wouterspan plant and to then reinitiate mining and processing.
Maintenance and modifications for further cost savings (for example, replacement of the de-sanding unit at Holpan with a simple, effective low cost degrit and cyclone system) were on-going at all of the company’s other operations, which were scheduled to restart at the end of January, he added.
The company had planned to commence operations on January 5, but had extended the shutdown to the end of January ‘as a consequence of continued weakness in the diamond market’.
Rockwell Diamonds’ financial results for the period ended November 30, 2008, are expected to be published on or about January 14. – Nampa-Sapa