Lucapa Diamond Company is selling its high-value Mothae mine in Lesotho in an attempt to streamline its portfolio and focus on core assets.
The company, which owns a 70% share in the deposit, while the government of Lesotho holds the remainder, made the decision following a review of its assets by the board of directors, it said Wednesday. The company did not disclose the asking price for the site, nor whether there were any interested buyers.
Along with the mine itself, Lucapa is also selling its processing plant, a 400-person-plus camp, three freshwater storage dams, a tailings storage facility, and existing buildings and infrastructure, it noted.
Mothae first reached commercial production in 2019 and has since produced several large, high-value diamonds, including a 204-carat stone in 2022 and a 215-carat rough in 2021. However, in its most recent results for the first quarter, the miner stated that the challenge with Mothae is the value of the diamonds recovered. The lower frequency of high-value exceptional diamonds has negatively impacted the average price per carat, it explained.
In the first quarter, which ended March 31, output from the mine rose 13% compared to the same period of 2023. Meanwhile, revenue fell 34% to $3.7 million even as sales volume rose 21% to 7,662 carats. The average price dropped 45% to $484 per carat.
“On review, it is clear the company should streamline the portfolio to focus on our core assets in Africa and Australia,” said Lucapa chairman Stuart Brown. “We expect there will be significant interest from those within the diamond industry and on a wider scale.”
In addition to Mothae, Lucapa also owns the high-value Lulo mine in Angola and the Merlin mine in Australia, which it is in the process of bringing online. The company is carrying out exploration at the Brooking project in Australia and Orapa in Botswana.
Image: The Mothae mine in Lesotho. (Lucapa Diamond Company)
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