CARATSameDeposit.DifferentYield.
Two kilometers below the Karoo, every gram of kimberlite costs the same to extract. The difference is what you recover from it.
Drill Core Analysis
Pipe 7 — Orapa Block
Depth
2,140m
Grade
1.84 cpht
Shift Yield
312 ct
The Cost of Standing Still
// OPERATIONAL RISK → REGULATORY EXPOSURE → SHAREHOLDER LIABILITY
Declining Ore Grades
Average kimberlite grades have dropped 18% over the past decade. Conventional crushing circuits lose up to 28% of recoverable stones to comminution damage.
Stone loss to comminution
28%
Precision Liberation Circuit
Variable-frequency drive autogenous mills calibrated per-pipe reduce comminution damage by 91%. Every carat that exists in the ore reaches the sort house.
Liberation efficiency
0.0%
+23pp vs benchmark
Water-Use Penalties
DWS regulations now impose levies above 1,500L/carat. Most operations sit at 2,400–3,200L/carat — triggering penalties that add $4.20–$7.80 per carat to operating cost.
Avg DWS penalty / carat
$6.40
Closed-Loop Dense Media
Our DMS circuit recovers and recycles 96% of process water. Sub-900L/carat consumption puts you below every current and proposed DWS levy threshold.
Process water consumption
0L/ct
-67% vs industry avg
Sorting Inaccuracy
X-ray transmission sorters running at industry-standard thresholds misclassify 16.8% of +1ct stones. At $4,200/ct average, that is $70,560 per 1,000 carats processed.
Misclassification rate
16.8%
Dual-Sensor AI Sort
Combined XRT + photometric AI achieves 99.4% classification accuracy across all size fractions. Training data from 2.3M stones across 14 pipe types.
Sort classification accuracy
0.0%
+16.2pp vs XRT-only
Process Comparison
Toggle between industry standard and Carat process across six operational KPIs. Data sourced from De Beers Annual Benchmarking Report 2025.
Diamond Recovery Rate
% of in-situ carats
71.6%
Cost per Carat
USD, all-in operating cost
$45.20
Process Water Consumption
Litres per carat recovered
2,840L
Lost-Time Injury Frequency
per 200,000 man-hours
3.42
Sort Classification Accuracy
% correct grade assignment
83.2%
Tailings Liability Index
DWS risk score (lower = better)
7.8 / 10
Source: De Beers Industry Benchmarking Report 2025 · IRMA Assessment Database · DWS Water Use Records Q3 2025
The Cost of Inaction Compounds
Operational inefficiency at the drill face becomes regulatory liability in the boardroom. The timeline is shorter than most procurement cycles.
Operational Inefficiency
Every 1pp decline in recovery rate costs a 50,000 carat/month operation $2.1M annually at current RDC prices. Most operations have not benchmarked since 2021.
$2.1M
Annual loss per 1pp recovery gap
Regulatory Risk
DWS water-use levies escalate 12% annually. MPRDA Section 28 tailings liability now follows the operating company, not the mine. Board approval required for any new capex without ESG sign-off.
+12%
Annual DWS levy escalation
Shareholder Exposure
JSE-listed mining houses with LTIFR above 2.0 now face mandatory disclosure in the integrated report. Institutional investors have flagged 14 South African diamond operations for ESG review in 2026.
14
SA diamond ops under ESG review
Two Ways to Start
Request Your Site Audit
A Carat process engineer reviews your current extraction circuit against our benchmark database. Delivered within 10 working days. No obligation.
Download the Benchmark Report
48-page technical report: recovery rate benchmarks across 31 kimberlite operations, water-use comparison, sorting technology assessment, and projected capex ROI models. Updated Q4 2025.
Carat Benchmark Report 2025
PDF · 48 pages · 6.2 MB