Lucapa Diamond Company has recovered a 195-carat, type IIa rough diamond from its Lulo alluvial mine in Angola, marking a significant addition to its collection of large diamonds.
This find, announced on Tuesday, is the sixth-largest diamond discovered at Lulo since operations began in 2015 and the fourth diamond over 100 carats recovered this year.
This discovery follows the unearthing of a 203-carat, type IIa rough diamond in March, processed from stockpiled ore at the site.
Additionally, in February, Lucapa recovered two other type IIa diamonds weighing 162.42 and 116.14 carats on consecutive days.
To date, Lucapa has produced 44 diamonds weighing more than 100 carats from the Lulo mine. The company is also working on restarting production at its Merlin mine in Australia and is involved in several ongoing exploration projects. Among these is the Orapa fields in Botswana, for which Lucapa has decided not to renew its lease.
Lucapa is looking to divest its Mothae deposit in Lesotho, with several interested parties, including the Lesotho government, as stated by managing director Nick Selby during the company’s annual meeting. The company’s primary focus moving forward will be on its projects in Angola and Australia.
“Angola is the fourth-largest diamond producer in the world, with much of its diamond-rich provinces unexplored for primary-source kimberlites,” said Lucapa chairman Stuart Brown, who joined the company last month.
“There is a well-accepted view from exploration geologists that Angola has the greatest potential to become a world diamond powerhouse with further discoveries of major new deposits.”
