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A recent feasibility study of the Karowe mine shows prices for its most valuable rough have declined 16% over the past two years as market demand wanes.
Rough from the EM/PK(s) open-pit region of the south lobe at Lucara Diamond Corp.’s Karowe mine in Botswana was valued at $695 per carat in the study, which took place in September, the miner said Monday. That compares with $828 per carat in June 2023, when the company conducted its last feasibility study. Prices for the M/PK(s) portion were down 26% from $707 per carat to $520 per carat.
Meanwhile, the company removed the north and center lobes from the study, as with the lower prices, those areas are no longer economically viable to mine, it said. The two lobes contained about 170,000 carats combined, according to the 2023 study.
Total reserves for the underground portion of Karowe have dropped 30% to 3.7 million, from 5.2 million in 2023. The decrease is likely the result of the miner concentrating on more profitable areas of the sites due to the lower prices the rough is currently yielding.
Image: The Karowe mine. (Lucara Diamond Corp.)
