Canada’s Lucara Diamond
(TSX:LUC) continues to find gem-quality, coloured diamonds at its Karowe
mine, in Botswana, which in April yielded the 1,758-carat Sewelô (meaning “rare
find”) diamond, the largest ever recovered in the African country.
The Vancouver-based miner has now recovered a 9.74 carat blue and a 4.13 carat pink diamonds from direct milling of the South Lobe, the area that yielded the famous 1,111-carat “Lesedi La Rona” in 2015.
The announcement comes on the heels of last week’s display of a 123 carat gem quality, top white, Type II diamond, found at the same section of the mine.
The two diamonds were found at the area that yielded the famous 1,111-carat “Lesedi La Rona” in 2015.
It also follows the recent sale of
a 2.24 carat blue for $347,222 per carat.
Karowe, which began commercial
operations in 2012, has this year yielded 22 diamonds larger than 100 carats,
eight of them exceeding 200 carats.
Since the start of the year, the
miner has sold 19 diamonds each with an individual price in excess of $1
million at its quarterly tender sales. This includes seven diamonds that
fetched more than $2 million each, and one diamond that carried a final price
tag of over $8 million.
“Lucara is extremely pleased with the recovery of these rare, sizeable, fancy coloured diamonds, which have the potential to contribute meaningful value to our regular production of large, high-value type IIa diamonds,” chief executive, Eira Thomas, said in the statement.
The precious rocks will be put up
for sale in December, during the company’s fourth-quarter tender.
Lucara, which has focused efforts
on the prolific Botswana mine this year, is close to completing a feasibility study into
potential underground production and life-of-mine expansion at Karowe.