Southstone Reports Record Q2 2026 Diamond Sales at Oena Mine, South Africa

Southstone Minerals Ltd. (TSX-V: SML) reported gross diamond sales of US$3,713,181 from the Oena Diamond Mine in South Africa for the quarter ended February 28, 2026, calling it the highest quarterly gross sales since the company acquired Oena in 2014. The company disclosed the figures in materials datelined Victoria, British Columbia on February 27, 2026.

The quarter defined by Southstone as Dec 2025–Feb 2026 delivered 1,390.42 carats sold across two tenders, producing an average price of US$2,671 per carat. That compares with Q1 fiscal 2026 totals of US$1,903,889 from 897.24 carats, an increase of +95% in gross sales and +55% in carats sold quarter-on-quarter, with the average price rising from US$2,122/ct to US$2,671/ct (+26%).

Large stones drove the result. Southstone sold 22 "Specials" in the quarter, defined in the company materials as diamonds greater than 10.8 carats, with an average weight of 19 carats and aggregate proceeds of US$2,774,934. Those Specials therefore represented about 74.8% of the US$3,713,181 gross sales total for the quarter. The single largest stone sold weighed 38.247 carats and fetched US$616,197 at US$16,111 per carat, which the company said is "the highest individual diamond sale price recorded by the Company since it acquired Oena in 2014."

Southstone highlighted the Sandberg Section as a key source of high-value material, noting that since November 2023 Specials have accounted for 29% of recovered carats and 67% of gross sales value from that section. The company linked the recovery of Specials to targeted mining of basal gravel layers within its operations at Oena.

Price distribution in Q2 also showed depth below the Specials: Southstone reported that 13 diamonds achieved individual prices greater than US$5,000 per carat during the quarter. By contrast, the company's own site copy noted that three Q1 diamonds exceeded US$5,000 per carat, underscoring the step-up in higher-priced stones in Q2.

The release referenced contractual arrangements but did not provide all operational detail. Southstone noted that "the applicable contractual revenue split between African Star Minerals (Pty) Ltd. and the mining contractor is described below," yet the supplied materials did not include the split percentages or dollar allocation. An inventory section in the company documents is truncated in the available text and did not disclose unsold inventory levels or valuation. The company presented the Q2 figures under a heading reading "Q2 2026 Results to Date (Unaudited)" in its materials.

The quarter's headline numbers will interest collectors and investors alike, but clarity on the contractual revenue split with African Star Minerals and on unsold inventory is required to determine how much of the US$3.71 million ultimately flows to Southstone's consolidated results.