Lucapa Sells Mothae Rough for $5.6M

RAPAPORT… Lucapa Diamond Company has sold $5.6 million worth of rough to manufacturer Safdico via a partnership the two companies formed last year.

The Graff subsidiary bought 4,676 carats of diamonds from the Mothae deposit in Lesotho at Lucapa’s first sale of goods from the site this year, the miner reported Monday. The sale achieved an average price of $1,198 per carat, the highest Lucapa has achieved for Mothae run-of-mine goods since commercial production began in the fourth quarter of 2019.

The parcel included a 101-carat, D-color diamond that Lucapa recovered in December — the most valuable the company has found at the mine, it said.

Last year, Lucapa signed a two-and-a-half year offtake partnership with Safdico, under which the Mauritius-based polishing company would purchase 100% of Mothae rough. The miner also has an agreement with the Graff unit to purchase up to 60% of the rough from its Lulo mine in Angola.

“Following a tough 2020, where both of our mines were impacted by the pandemic,…operations have bounced back strongly,” said Lucapa managing director Stephen Wetherall. “The good recoveries at both mines — and growing demand, leading to strengthening diamond prices — [have resulted in] a strong start to 2021.”

Image: (left to right): 19-carat, 101-carat and 28-carat, D-color rough diamonds that featured in the sale. (Lucapa Diamond Company)