Lucapa Refinances to Strengthen Mothae Business

RAPAPORT… Lucapa Diamond Company has
signed a new refinancing agreement that will allow it to reduce its debts and further develop its Mothae mine in Lesotho.



New Azilian will give the
miner a one-year loan of $7 million, some of which it will put toward repaying
a loan to Equigold ahead of schedule. That loan was taken out in 2017.


Lucapa will also use the
funds from New Azilian as working capital, providing it with more flexibility in
scheduling future diamond tenders, it said Thursday. This will help the miner
maximize its revenues from those sales, it added.


“These new refinancing
arrangements will provide Lucapa with added financial strength to continue to
build our strategic position in this niche high-value diamond sector,” said Lucapa
CEO Stephen Wetherall.


The agreement follows the
recovery of a high-quality diamond from Mothae weighing 55 carats, the fifth of that magnitude the new deposit has yielded. The next tender of rough stones from
Mothae is scheduled for the second quarter. The mine began commercial
production in January.


Lucapa also owns the Lulo
mine in Angola, known for its large, high-quality stones.

Image: The 55-carat stone retrieved from the Mothae mine. (Lucapa Diamond Company)