AMN - BOTSWANA: Third largest diamond from Karowe

Lucara Diamond Corp has recovered a 472 carat, top light brown gem diamond, the third largest diamond ever recovered from its 100%-owned Karowe Diamond Mine in Botswana.

CEO Eira Thomas said: “In 2018, mining at Karowe is focused in the high-value south lobe, which consistently delivers large, high-quality diamonds in excess of 10.8 carats in size. 

“The 472 carat is the third largest diamond ever recovered from the mine and will be sold alongside other exceptional stones recovered since the beginning of the year as part of the first exceptional stone tender (EST) later in 2018.”

In the March quarter, Lucara recovered 218 specials (diamonds greater than 10.8 carats), the third highest quarterly count on record. Four of these stones were greater than 100 carats each and there were at least eight EST qualifying diamonds.

The first regular stone tender (RST) was completed in March and results will be reported next month.

Lucara continues to focus on maximising value at Karowe, where a pre-feasibility study assessing the potential for going underground and extending mine-life from 2026 to 2036 is well underway and progressing on schedule for completion towards year-end.

In February 2018, Lucara also announced the acquisition of Clara, a secure, digital, rough diamond sales platform that combines proprietary analytics with existing cloud and blockchain technologies to modernise the current diamond supply chain. 

Commercialisation work has since commenced, under a budget of about US$2 million, and is tracking on schedule for implementation using diamonds from Karowe, beginning in August 2018.

Lucara is a leading independent producer of large exceptional quality Type IIa diamonds from its 100%-owned Karowe mine.

The company has an experienced board and management team with extensive diamond development and operations expertise.

www.lucaradiamond.com