Lulo diamond sales bring in a further $14.5m for Lucapa Diamond Company JV

Lucapa Diamond Company (ASX: LOM) and its joint venture partner Empresa Nacional de Diamantes have reportedly generated A$14.5 million-worth of revenue during the latest diamond sale from the Lulo alluvial mine in Angola.

During this latest sale, 5,573 carats were sold for an average price of US$1,800 (A$2,590) per carat, bringing gross revenue from Lulo diamond sales to US$22.1 million (A$31.8 million) for the first half of 2019.

According to Lucapa, which owns 40% of Lulo, the sales underpin Lulo’s status as the world’s highest average price alluvial diamond operation.

Not included in the sale were several high-value diamonds including a 130 carat colour diamond and a 46 carat pink gem, which have been retained in inventory.

During the March quarter, 124,537t of ore was treated at Lulo to recover 3,369 carats.

Mothae diamond mine

Meanwhile, at Lucapa’s 70%-owned Mothae kimberlite mine in Lesotho, the company reported the sale of A$5 million-worth of gems late last month.

The A$5 million diamond sale from Mothae was the second tender in 2019 and comprised Antwerp purchasing a rough diamond parcel of 7,008 carats.

Total revenue from Mothae diamond sales for 2019 have amounted to US$7.3 million (A$10.5 million) – representing an average price per carat of US$588 (A$845.99).

As a result of the continued strong recoveries from Mothae, Lucapa is considering holding a third tender before the end of June.

Commercial production at Mothae began in January this year, but mining has been restricted to the lower-margin diamond zones.

Lucapa claims this decision is a result of delayed dewatering of the main southern pit to preserve water required for higher throughputs in the second half of the year.

Once the water has been transferred to operation’s main dam, Lucapa will then begin mining the higher-margin diamond zones.

By midday, shares in Lucapa had lifted 3% to $0.16.