Lucapa Diamond Company – Page 4 – The Diamond Certification Laboratory of Australia (DCLA)

Lucapa recovers first +100 carat diamond from Mothae

Lucapa Diamond Company has recovered its first+100 carat diamond for its Mothae mine in Lesotho.

The stone is a gem-quality 126 carat diamond and is the largest diamond recovered since commercial mining operations commenced in January 2019.

The diamond is also the sixth +50 carat diamond recovered since Lucapa commenced its pre-production bulk sampling programme at Mothae in 2018.

It comes shortly after Lucapa and its partners recovered a 130 carat gem-quality diamond from the company’s high-value Lulo alluvial mine in Angola.

Lesotho Minister of Mining, the Honourable Keketso Sello, said the recovery of the 126 carat diamond represented another milestone for Lesotho’s highly-prospective diamond sector.

“Lesotho is very proud of its international reputation as a producer of large and high-quality diamonds and this latest recovery from our newest mine, Mothae, continues to demonstrate our nation’s great potential,” said minister Sello.

Lucapa MD Stephen Wetherall said the 126 carat diamond was further proof of the large stone and high-value nature of the Mothae kimberlite resource, which is located within 5 km of Letseng, the world’s highest US$ per carat kimberlite diamond mine.

“We are delighted to have recovered our first +100 carat stone so early in our commercial mining

campaign at Mothae, along with other rare Type IIa and fancy coloured gems, and look forward to

unlocking the true value of this mine over the next decade and beyond,” Wetherall concluded.

Source: miningreview

Lucapa Diamond announced a 90% upsurge in Diamond Resource Carats at Lulo

The international diamond group, Lucapa Diamond Company Limited has high valued mines in Angola and Lesotho, with exploration projects in Australia, Botswana, and Angola.

The company on 21 March 2019, provided an update on Alluvial Diamond Resource for the Lulo diamond mine in Angola Lulo Diamond Resource. LOM is under the partnership with Rosas & Petalas and Empresa Nacional de Diamantes E.P.

Z Star Mineral Resource Consultants Limited, an External consultant of Cape Town, South Africa, independently estimated and reconciled The Lulo Diamond Resource, on a depletion and addition basis as on December 31, 2018.

The resource estimation comprised of 19 months of mining depletion at Lulo from May 31, 2017, to December 31, 2018. During, 19 months, more than 30,000 carats of diamonds were recovered and sold for approximately US$ 62 Mn.

This extensive ongoing resource definition, drilling and sampling program included an additional 4,200 auger holes 36,000 meters drilled.

The current sale of Diamond was estimated at prices above the previous resource estimation on May 31, 2017.

Source:kalkinemedia

Lucapa Angola Tender Rakes In $17M USD

Lucapa Diamond Company sold $16.7 million worth of rough stones from its Lulo mine at the first diamond tender under Angola’s new sales rules.

“The exceptional sale prices achieved for the Lulo diamonds reflected the highly competitive bidding from leading international diamantaires and large-stone manufacturers from eight countries that participated in the tender,” the company said Friday.

The miner sold seven special-size stones through an electronic tender in Luanda organized by state-owned diamond-marketing company Sodiam. Six white stones weighing 114.94, 85.24, 75.62, 70.08, 62.05 and 43.25 carats, and a 46.77-carat pink, fetched a combined average price of $33,530 per carat at the sale, which took place January 30 to 31. Lucapa has been withholding the stones from sale throughout the year to sell them under the reformed rules, which were designed to improve transparency and pricing.

Under the previous regulations, miners were required to sell their diamonds to a list of buyers Sodiam selected, limiting competition for the stones and causing pricing to fall below market levels. The new system allows companies to offer 60% of their production to clients of their choice.

Lucapa has now sold $141 million worth of rough Lulo diamonds since it began commercial operations in 2015, at an average price of $2,105 per carat.

The company’s share price rose 8% Friday following the announcement.

Source: Diamonds.net

LUCAPA TO SELL LARGE AND EXCEPTIONAL DIAMONDS IN “HISTORIC” AUCTION

Lucapa Diamond Company, owner and operator of the Lulo mine in Angola, will sell seven large and exceptional Lulo diamonds an “historic inaugural international tender under Angola’s new diamond marketing laws” in January.

The auction, which will be held at the offices of Sodiam Angolan state diamond marketing company in Luanda, will feature “major international diamantaires and large stone manufacturers”. The seven Lulo diamonds to be offered at tender include Type IIa D colour white gems of up to 114 carats and a 46 carat pink diamond.

In its latest diamond sale, held in late November, Lucapa raked in $4.2 million from the sale of 3,411 carats. The sale achieved an average price per carat of $1,220. The sale has brought the total year-to-date sales of Lulo diamonds to $24.5 million at an average price of $1,353 per carat.

Source: israelidiamond

Lucapa Diamonds highest dollar per carat miner dazzles the market

Lucapa Diamond Company is well advanced with a strategic plan to unlock greater wealth from its asset portfolio by expanding production of large, premium value diamonds and continuing exploration programmes to make new discoveries.

Its operations include an extensive exploration programme at its 40% owned Lulo alluvial mine to locate the hardrock source or sources of the exceptional alluvial diamonds and the development of a second high value diamond mine at Mothae in Lesotho.

LUCAPA FINDS NEW ALLUVIAL SOURCE FOR LARGE DIAMONDS

Lucapa Diamond Company has found a new alluvial source of “large and premium value diamonds” at its Lulo diamond mine in Angola, according to press release.

Lucapa said that it has been exploring the extensive flood plains along the 50km stretch of Cacuilo River valley within the Lulo diamond concession, and found that they are host “to exceptional alluvial diamonds”. The tested area yielded 17 Specials larger than 10 carats, including an exceptional 55 carat Type IIa D colour white. A total of 1,502 carats were recovered so far from 11,155 bulk cubic metres processed.

Lucapa said that it will continue testing “other flood plain areas at Lulo in parallel with alluvial mining activities in established areas”.

Lucapa to Sell Large Stones

Lucapa Diamond Company will sell six large stones weighing a total of 449 carats from its Lulo mine in Angola after an overhaul of the nation’s mining laws prompted it to delay the sale, it said.

The Angolan government introduced reforms to its diamond sector in the first half of the year to help boost foreign investment. Those measures included a new marketing policy for Angolan diamonds, and the option of offering goods for sale in locations such as Antwerp.

Anticipating the changes, Lucapa has been holding back a selection of large stones from previous sales, and will now sell them under the new policy, it explained Friday. These include six type IIa white diamonds weighing 114 carats, 85 carats, 75 carats, 70 carats, 62 carats and 43 carats, as well as a 46-carat pink diamond.

“The discussions with our Angolan partners regarding the policy changes taking place in the Angolan diamond sector have reached a stage where we are now able to plan for the sale of these large, premium-value Lulo diamonds held over from previous sales,” Lucapa managing director Stephen Wetherall said. “We look forward to marketing these exceptional diamonds as soon as the necessary arrangements are put in place to continue showcasing Angolan diamonds to the world.”

The decision to delay the tender for those stones had a negative impact on Lucapa’s first-half results, the company added. Its losses grew to $4.6 million for the period, versus a loss of $1.2 million a year earlier.

Even so, Lucapa’s sales rose 3% year on year to $15.9 million in the first half, while production for the same period climbed 15% to 9,566 carats. The average price of rough diamonds from Lulo rose 1% to $1,642 per carat. Rough-diamond inventory from the asset grew 61% year on year to 2,755 carats as of June 30, the miner reported.

Lucapa’s most recent sale of 2,531 carats of rough from Lulo fetched $2.5 million, achieving an average price of $985 per carat, the company noted.

Image: 46-carat pink Lulo diamond. Credit: Lucapa.

Source: Diamonds.net

Lucapa Finds 3 More Special Diamonds at Mothae Mine

89 carat yellow stone from Mothae’s South East zone

Just a week after unearthing an 11.88 carat diamond, Lucapa Diamond Company has recovered more “special” diamonds from its Mothae mine, including a 28-carat stone and two light pink diamonds.

Special diamonds, a term the company uses to describe any diamond over 10.8 carats, have been abundant at Mothae in recent weeks.

The company is currently conducting ongoing bulk sampling, and recent results have included an 89 carat yellow stone from Mothae’s South East zone, a 25 carat yellow gem from the Neck zone and a 12-carat white diamond from the North zone.

The bulk sampling at the site is happening alongside construction of a new 150-tonne-per-hour commercial diamond plant, which is on schedule to be commissioned in H2 2018.

Lucapa Managing Director Stephen Wetherall has previously discussed the company’s bulk-sampling program, describing the prior lack of exploration at the site.

“Certain areas of the kimberlite pipe which hadn’t historically been sampled (Neck zone), or where there had been very limited historical testing (South-East and North zones), were thought to be underestimated as a result. At the time of acquisition, we believed there was much upside here and this program is designed to deliver that upside,” Wetherall said.

Wetherall also touched on the commercial diamond plant’s construction, and how the successful recovery results have given the company optimism for the road ahead.

“To have already recovered special sized diamonds from early sampling tonnages in all three of these areas gives us great confidence we can achieve this goal. It also adds to our excitement as we advance construction of our new 150 tph plant, which remains on track for commercial diamond production later this year,” he said.

The Mothae mine, located in Lesotho, South Africa, is a joint venture between Lucapa, which owns 70 percent, and the government of the Kingdom of Lesotho, which owns 30 percent.

Lucapa gets another $2 million from Lulo diamonds sale

Lucapa Diamonds said it had made USD $2 million after selling rough diamonds recovered at its prolific Lulo mine in Angola.

Sale has taken gross sales proceeds from the Angola based mine so far this year to $15.9 million.

Empresa Nacional de Diamantes and Rosas & Petalas, Lucapa all partners in th emine have sold 1,782 carats at an average price of $1,150 per carat.

The mine is located 150km from Alrosa’s Catoca mine the world’s fourth largest diamond mine, hosts type 2a diamonds which account for less than 1% of global supply.

Angola is now the world’s forth largest diamond producer by value and sixth by volume.

163ct D Flawless Diamond to be Auctioned at Christie’s

163ct. D Flawless Diamond at Christie’sAuction

The emerald cut diamond weighing 163.41 carats will be the largest D colour flawless diamond to appear at an auction.

The 404.20 carat “4 de Fevereiro,” alluvial rough diamond that Lucapa Diamond Company recovered is the largest rough diamond in history originating from Angola.

The Rough Diamond was recovered at Lulo mine in Angola in February 2016, and sold for $16 million USD later that month by Lucapa.

The auction will take place on November 14, in Geneva at the Four Seasons Hotel des Bergues .