A plan to increase rough diamond production at the Cassanguidi mine in Angola has been implemented, Sweden's IGE Resources announced Tuesday.

The action plan calls to consolidate the mine's two processing plants; increase its production capacity; and review the mine's operating hours. In addition, equipment from the company's sampling operating in South Africa will be transferred to the Angola site – an essential move, as the company experienced several equipment failures at Cassanguidi during the fourth quarter of 2010.

IGE CEO Tomas Fellbom said that areas containing a higher grade of diamondiferous ore had been identified and the company was moving ahead with "cautious optimism," having revised its production target to 7,000 carats a month by the end of 2011.

IGE expects diamond values to remain in the $160-$180 range, although a parcel of diamonds from the mine sold last month fetched an average per-carat price of $310, a number that was affected by the sale of a valuable 16-carat diamond.