Botswana Proposes Lucara Investment

RAPAPORT… The government of Botswana is said to have expressed
interest in buying shares in Lucara Diamond Corp., the owner of the country’s
high-value Karowe diamond mine.



“I have proposed…Lucara allow [the] government to invest in
the company,” President Mokgweetsi Masisi told the Botswana Gazette. “As
a country, we would benefit from such value.”


Lucara CEO Eira Thomas and Masisi met for a private
discussion at a trade show earlier this month, during which the president raised
the idea.


“Lucara was pleased to have the opportunity to meet with
President Mokgweetsi Masisi at the JCK conference in Las Vegas,” the miner told
Rapaport News last week. “[We] are unable to comment on the intentions
of President Masisi or the Republic of Botswana. Lucara and its subsidiary,
Lucara Botswana, continue to enjoy a very positive relationship with the
Republic of Botswana, and we meet and discuss new opportunities and initiatives
with government representatives on an ongoing basis.”


While Masisi did not reveal how much the government intended
to invest, he mentioned that he would discuss the possibility with his cabinet
and all relevant authorities. The Botswana government previously held a stake
in Karowe, then known as AK6, when De Beers owned it.


Lucara bought Karowe from De Beers in 2009. It has
extracted several large stones from the mine, including the 1,109-carat Lesedi
La Rona and the 813-carat Constellation.


Image: The Karowe mine. (Lucara Diamond Corp.)