Lucapa Diamond Company Enters Voluntary Administration Amid Market Pressures         

Lucapa Diamond Company Enters Voluntary Administration

Lucapa Diamond Company has entered voluntary administration following a major cost-cutting initiative and a significant reduction in its corporate workforce. The decision comes in the wake of mounting financial pressure and weakening global diamond demand, attributed in part to US President Donald Trump’s trade tariffs, which have disrupted pricing and buyer confidence.

KordaMentha Appointed as Administrators

Leading corporate recovery firm KordaMentha Restructuring has been appointed to oversee Lucapa’s administration, with Richard Tucker and Paul Pracilio named as voluntary administrators. Their immediate focus is an urgent operational and financial assessment of Lucapa, followed by a dual-track recapitalisation and potential sale process.

Lucapa’s Key Assets: Lulo and Merlin Projects

Lucapa holds a 40% interest in the high-value Lulo alluvial diamond mine in Angola. The site is known for producing large, premium-quality Type IIa diamonds, including stones exceeding 100 carats.

In Australia, Lucapa’s flagship asset is the Merlin Diamond Project in the Northern Territory. The project includes a 24 km² mining lease and a 210 km² exploration licence. Historically, eight of the 11 known kimberlite pipes at Merlin were mined by Rio Tinto (ASX: RIO) and Ashton Mining between 1999 and 2003, yielding approximately 500,000 carats from 2.2 million tonnes of processed kimberlite.

Financial Challenges in Q1 2025

Lucapa’s March quarter report highlights a sharp downturn in financial performance. Diamond inventories dropped 44% to 1,685 carats, and cash and receivables fell 41% to $2 million. Additionally, the company took on $600,000 in interest-bearing debt during the period. In response, Lucapa implemented a thorough review of its corporate expenditure, resulting in reduced overheads and workforce downsizing.

The company noted that the full impact of US trade tariffs on diamond sales has yet to be determined. However, uncertainty among buyers throughout April has led to softened demand and reduced prices across the industry.

Path Forward Through DOCA

Despite the challenges, there is optimism that Lucapa may recover through a Deed of Company Arrangement (DOCA). KordaMentha’s Richard Tucker previously stated that approximately 99% of mining companies the firm assists successfully emerge from administration via DOCA, which aims to preserve operations and secure better outcomes for creditors than liquidation.

Lucapa Diamond Company’s move into administration reflects broader challenges in the diamond sector, including geopolitical trade tensions and market uncertainty. The success of the upcoming recapitalisation or sale process, under the guidance of KordaMentha, will be critical in determining the company’s future and protecting the value of its premium diamond assets.

Lucapa Diamond Secures Majority Stake in Lulo JV, Strengthening Its Position in Angola

Lucapa Diamond Secures Majority Stake in Lulo

Lucapa Diamond Company, an ASX-listed diamond miner, has finalised its mineral investment contract (MIC) for the Lulo joint venture (JV) in Angola, increasing its stake from 39% to a controlling 51%. The contract now awaits formal approval from Angola’s Ministry of Mineral Resources and Petroleum.

The Lulo JV is focused on kimberlite exploration at the highly prospective Lulo concession. This latest agreement, reached after a three-day negotiation in Angola, was finalised with JV partners Endiama, Rosas & Petalas, and Lucapa, marking a significant milestone for the company.

Lucapa’s managing director and CEO, Alex Kidman, highlighted the strategic importance of securing a majority stake, stating that this move enhances Lucapa’s share of any future exploration success. He also emphasized Angola’s commitment to the project, recognizing Lulo as one of the country’s most significant diamond ventures.

Meanwhile, bulk sampling operations continue at Lulo, with stockpiling from site L130/01 already underway. Further sampling is planned at key targets, including L349, L137, and L130, as the company intensifies its search for Lulo’s exceptional diamonds.

Lucapa concludes special tender worth $12m

Lucapa Diamond Company has sold six diamonds recovered from the Lulo mine

Lucapa Diamond Company has sold six diamonds recovered from the Lulo mine, in Angola, in a special tender for $12.4-million.

The diamonds totalled 447 ct and consisted of five white Type IIa diamonds, as well as a pink diamond.

The average price per carat was about $27 700.

MD and CEO Nick Selby deems the tender result pleasing. “Our alluvial project, in Angola, continues to deliver fantastic diamonds that are always in demand through all market cycles and achieve very competitive values.”

Source: miningweekly.com

Lucapa recovers 195 carat diamond from Lulo mine

Lucapa Diamond announced Tuesday that together with its Lulo alluvial mine partners, Endiama and Rosas & Petalas, the company has recovered a 195 carat Type IIa diamond from its Lulo mine in Angola.

The diamond is the sixth largest and the 44th +100 carat diamond to be recovered from the Lulo mine, the company said, adding that the 195 carat Type IIa diamond is the fourth +100 diamond to be recovered at Lulo this year.

The mine, which hosts the world’s highest dollar-per-carat alluvial diamonds, began commercial production in January 2015. Only a year later, it delivered the largest ever diamond recovered in Angola a 404 carat white stone later named the “4th February Stone”.

Lucapa has a 40% stake in the Lulo mine. The rest is held by Angola’s national diamond company (Endiama) and Rosas & Petalas, a private entity.

Angola is the world’s fifth diamond producer by value and sixth by volume. Its industry, which began a century ago under Portuguese colonial rule, is successfully being liberalized.

Source: Mining.com

Karowe Yields Massive 549ct. Rough

Lucara 549 carat rough diamond

Lucara Diamond Corp. has unearthed a 549-carat white diamond at its Karowe mine, the fourth-largest stone in the history of the Botswana deposit.

The unbroken stone, which is of “exceptional purity,” is the first large diamond Lucara has recovered using its Mega Diamond Recovery (MDR) equipment, the miner said Wednesday. The unit, which the miner commissioned in 2017, is specifically designed to recover large stones early in the extraction process to reduce the risk of breakage.

The rough stone is worth $15 million to $20 million, according to an estimate by Berenberg investment bank. However, it could potentially sell for more, the bank added.

The diamond came from the high-value EM/PK(S) portion of discovery of Karowe’s lucrative south lobe, Lucara noted. The same area yielded a 176-carat, gem-quality stone earlier this year, and was also the source of the 1,758-carat Sewelô, the 1,109-carat Lesedi La Rona and the 813-carat Constellation.

“Lucara is extremely pleased to be starting off 2020 with the recovery of two large, high-quality diamonds that build on the positive momentum generated following the completion of a strong fourth-quarter sale in December,” Lucara CEO Eira Thomas said.

Lucara has retrieved six diamonds over 100 carats since the beginning of the year. It will announce its plans for the sale of the 549-carat and 176-carat diamonds shortly.

The miner’s share price rose 4% in early trading Thursday following the announcement.

Source: Diamonds.net

LUCAPA RAKES IN $1,234 PER CARAT IN LATEST LULO DIAMONDS SALE

lucapa large white rough diamond

In 2019 to date, Lucapa has sold a total of $26.5 million worth of Lulo diamonds

Lucapa, which owns and operates the Lulo alluvial mine in Angola and the Mothae kimberlite mine in Lesotho, sold a parcel of 3,558 carats of Lulo diamonds for $4.4 million in its latest sale – a whooping $1,234 per carat, according to IDEX Online. In 2019 to date, Lucapa has sold a total of $26.5 million worth of Lulo diamonds ($2,764 per carat).

Lucapa also reported selling a parcel of 4,376 carats of Mothae diamonds for $1.8 million. These figures bring sales of diamonds from Lulo mine in Angola and the Mothae kimberlite mine in Lesotho to $35.5 million in 2019 to date.

Earlier this week, Lucapa announced the recovery of a top-color, exceptional 64-carat diamond from its Mothae mine in Lesotho. According to Lucapa MD Stephen Wetherall, the Type IIa D-colour stone “is considered to be the best individual diamond recovered to date from the Mothae mine”.

Source: Israelidiamond