Lucara Filled with ‘Joy’ at Recovery of 63ct. Pink

RAPAPORT… Lucara Diamond Corp. has unearthed four fancy-pink diamonds from its Karowe mine in Botswana, the largest of which weighs a whopping 62.7 carats.

The type IIa diamond, which the miner named Boitumelo — meaning “joy” in the local Setswana language — came from the high-value EM/PK(S) portion of Karowe’s south lobe, Lucara said Tuesday. Boitumelo is the largest fancy-pink diamond to be recovered in Botswana and one of the largest rough pink diamonds in the world, the company said.

Along with the 62.7-carat stone, Lucara discovered three other high-quality pinks weighing 22.21, 11.17 and 5.05 carats.

The new discoveries “demonstrate the continued potential for large, colored diamonds from the south-lobe production,” said Lucara CEO Eira Thomas. “These remarkable pink diamonds join a collection of significant diamond recoveries in 2021 produced from the EM/PK(S), which forms a key economic driver for the proposed underground mine at Karowe.”

In March, Lucara secured financing of up to $220 million for an underground expansion of Karowe. The project is expected to take approximately five years and cost an estimated $514 million. It will extend the life of the mine to at least 2040 from its current 2025 cutoff.

Image: The four pink diamonds. (Lucara Diamond Corp.)