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Lucara Diamond Corp. has kept its original full-year forecast, even as revenue declined due to lower-grade, lower-quality ore.
The miner still believes revenue will reach between $100 million and $130 million, it said last week. Revenue fell as the miner had to suspend operations at the deposit temporarily amid severe weather conditions that caused elevated water levels in the open-pit portion of the site. It therefore processed run-of-mine stockpile material, known to be of lower quality. Once the company can return to mining that area, likely in the second quarter, it will have higher-quality goods to sell.
Lucara offers rough from its Karowe mine in Botswana in three ways: via quarterly tenders; on its Clara digital platform, which matches buyers with the exact stones they need; and through an offtake agreement with HB for rough over 10.8 carats.
Revenue for the first quarter that ended March 31 dropped 28% to $21.8 million, as the miner sold a lower proportion of large stones into its contract agreement with HB. Despite the lower-grade ore, sales volume increased 9% to 79,744 carats. Sales to HB comprised 62% of its total, down from 64% a year ago, with revenue from the channel decreasing 30% to $13.6 million. The company reported a net loss of $14.6 million, wider than the $100,000 net loss it posted in the first quarter a year ago. Output from the deposit slid 20% to 72,061 carats.
During the quarter, Lucara recovered 100 special-sized stones, including five diamonds greater than 100 carats. Of those, one was a 36.92-carat, blue, type IIb diamond. That compares with 139 specials and six over 100 carats during the comparable period of 2025.
Image: A 692-carat rough diamond. (Lucara Diamond Corp.)
