Lucapa Diamond Company announced the recovery of three +100 carat diamonds by Sociedade Mineira Do Lulo (“SML”) from the Lulo alluvial diamond mine in Angola.
The 131 carat is a Type IIa D-colour diamond, the 118 carat is a brown diamond and the 133 carat stone is a lower-quality grey diamond.
Lucapa is a niche diamond producer with high-value mines in Angola (Lulo) and Lesotho (Mothae). The 0.5 million bulk cubic metre per annum Lulo alluvial mine and 1.6 million tonnes per annum (“Mtpa”) Mothae kimberlite mine both produce large and high-value diamonds, with >75% of revenues generated from the recovery of +4.8 carat stones.
The Lulo mine has been mining commercially since 2015 and has produced 22 +100 carat diamonds to date, including a 404 carat D-colour Type IIa stone, and is one of the highest average US$ per carat alluvial diamond producers in the world. Lucapa and its Project Lulo JV partners have also achieved highly encouraging results from their search to discover the primary hard-rock source of the highvalue Lulo alluvial diamonds.
The Mothae mine in diamond-rich Lesotho commenced commercial mining in 2019 and has produced five +100 carat diamonds to date, including a 215 carat D-colour Type IIa stone. Lucapa has commissioned a ~45% expansion in the processing capacity of the Mothae mine which will see capacity grow from 1.1 Mtpa to 1.6 Mtpa by the end of Q1 2021.
