Lucapa boosts Lulo Q2 output

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Published on Tuesday, 02 August 2022 08:42

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Lucapa Diamond unearthed 7,791 carats, including 113 specials, during the second quarter of 2022 at its 40%-owned Lulo alluvial mine in Angola.

It said of the special recovered, the largest was a 115 carat brown diamond, as well as a number of fancy pink and yellow coloured diamonds.

The carats recovered were 19% higher than 6,551 carats in the corresponding prior year period.

It said the historic 170 carat pink coloured diamond named ‘‘The Lulo Rose’’ was recovered post the quarter end.

Meanwhile, Lucapa’s 70%-owned Mothae mine in Lesotho produced 9,341 carats during the quarter, a drop of 3% to 9,603 carats compared to the same period, a year earlier.

Mothae recovered 62 special diamonds during the quarter, including a 204 carat Type I gem quality diamond.

The mine also recovered a +100 carat diamond weighing 129 carats, but it was of low quality.

“The frequent recovery of large, high-value diamonds at Lulo, continues to highlight the significance of a primary source discovery in Angola,” said company managing director Stephen Wetherall.

“The soon to be commissioned kimberlite treatment plant and ability to crush and process kimberlite bulk samples far more frequently and efficiently, will surely bring Lucapa and its partners much closer to achieving our goal of discovering a potentially unique source.”

He also said the inflationary and constrained supply environment impacted on Mothae in the first half.