Angola continues producing monster diamonds
PERTH, Australia – Lucapa Diamond Company and its partners Empresa Nacional de Diamantes E.P. (Endiama) and Rosas & Petalas have announced the recovery of the 19th +100 carat diamond by Sociedade Mineira Do Lulo (SML) from the Lulo alluvial diamond mine in Angola.
The 114 carat Type IIa D-colour white diamond is the third +100 carat diamond recovered from Mining Block 46 (MB46) in the last eight weeks.
The frequency of recovery of these high-value +100 carat stones from MB46, highlights the prospectivity of the Canguige catchment and adjacent priority kimberlites.
To date, MB46 has averaged one +100 carat diamond recovered for every ~33,000 bcm’s of gravel processed. This is the best occurrence rate for any block mined to date at Lulo, including the prolific MB08.
Preparations are underway to continue bulk sampling the priority kimberlites as the wet season draws to a close.
Lucapa is a niche diamond producer with high-value mines in Angola (Lulo) and Lesotho (Mothae). The Lulo alluvial mine and Mothae kimberlite mine both produce large and high-value diamonds, with >75% of revenues generated from the recovery of +4.8 carat stones.
Lulo has produced 19 +100 carat diamonds to date and is one of the highest average US$ per carat alluvial diamond producers in the world. Lucapa and its Project Lulo partners have also received highly encouraging results from their search to discover the primary hard-rock source of the high-value Lulo alluvial diamonds.
The 1.1Mtpa Mothae kimberlite mine in diamond-rich Lesotho commenced commercial mining and processing operations in January 2019. It produced >30,000 carats in its first year of production andfive +100 carat diamonds to date.
Lucapa has recently commissioned a ~45% expansion in the processing capacity of the Mothae kimberlite mine from 1.1Mtpa to 1.6Mtpa which is scheduled for completion in Q1 2021.
