RAPAPORT… Diamond resources at Lucapa Diamond Company’s Lulo alluvial mine in Lesotho are
90% higher than it originally estimated, according to an independent valuation.
Lulo has 80,400 carats remaining in the mine, according to a December 2018 study by external consulting company Z Star Mineral Resource
Consultants. That figure was reevaluated from a previous Lulo resource estimation conducted in
May 2017, which listed the mine’s total contents at 42,200 carats.
Z Star also updated the average price for Lulo rough to $1,420 per carat, a 17% improvement versus the previous estimate of $1,215
per carat.
“The near doubling of in-situ resource carats in the
upgraded Lulo diamond resource supports the Lulo partners’ plans to increase
alluvial production in 2019,” Lucapa CEO Stephen Wetherall said.
Image: Diamonds from the Lulo mine. (Lucapa)
Lulo Resource Estimate Nearly Doubles
The Bottom Line
- Independent valuation raises Lulo mine's remaining diamond resources to 80,400 carats, a 90% increase from the 2017 estimate of 42,200 carats.
- The average price per carat for Lulo rough diamonds was updated to $1,420, a 17% increase from the previous $1,215 per carat estimate.
- The upgraded resource estimate supports Lucapa's plans to increase alluvial diamond production at Lulo in 2019.
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