(IDEX Online News) – Dominion Diamond Corporation has announced that it recovered 1.5 million carats from its Diavik Diamond Mine in the fourth quarter of 2015.

The company said that its 2015 fourth quarter production results showed a 3-percent decline from the 1.54 million carats produced in the same quarter a year previously. The reduction was due to a three week long maintenance shutdown. This reduction, however, was partially offset by a higher recovered grade in its A-154 North and A-418 kimberlite pipes.

Dominion’s recovery of 6.4 million carats in 2015 was 9 percent lower than the company’s predicted 7 million carats. This was due to a combination of lower mining rates and the availability of the process plant in the fourth quarter. Dominion predicts that it will produce 7 million carats in 2016.

Based on its fourth quarter sales, Dominion predicts an average selling price of $106.25 across its three kimberlites; A-154 South, A-154 North and A-418, and also its core ore reserves.

The company also announced that its A-21 pipe continues to progress according to plan, and its 2016 new mine plan and budget is under review by Rio Tinto and its own auditors.