Lucapa Tender Yields $10M

RAPAPORT… Lucapa Diamond Company earned $10.4 million from
its latest sale of rough stones, bringing its total for the year to date to
$45.9 million.



The miner sold 5,469 carats from its Lulo mine in
Angola for $5.9 million, at an average price of $1,087 per carat, it reported
Thursday. This figure does not include a 46-carat pink diamond recovered last
year that is currently being assessed for polishing.


In addition, the company sold a total of 5,307
carats from its Mothae mine in Lesotho, netting $4.4 million at an average
price of $837 per carat. This is more than double the average achieved during
its last tender, in August, largely due to the inclusion of a 36-carat, D-color
stone and a 64-carat, D-color, type IIa diamond, which Lucapa held over from
the earlier sale.


So far this year, Lulo rough has
yielded $32.4 million, while Mothae stones have netted $13.5 million.


Production from Lulo rose sharply in the third
quarter, with the mine recovering 7,603 carats, representing a 67% increase versus
the same period in 2018.


The miner also produced a record 7,007 carats at
Mothae — its highest quarterly result since commercial production began at the
start of 2019.


Image: Rough diamonds from the Mothae sale parcel. (Lucapa Diamond Company)