PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Diamond miner Lucapa Diamond Company has generated a further A$5.3-million in revenue from the sale of 5 411 ct of rough diamonds recovered from its Mothae operation, in Lesotho, during January.
The diamonds were recovered during the ramp-up of the 1.1-million-tonne-a-year plant in the fourth quarter of 2018, and in the first month of commercial mining operations in January.
The diamonds were sold at tender, and achieved an overall price of $707/ct for the run-of-mine parcel.
“The solid bidding we witnessed in Antwerp for this first commercial parcel has certainly marked Mothae’s arrival on the international scene as a producer of top quality goods, complementing those from our Lulo mine,” said Lucapa MD Stephen Wetherall.
“The strong sales price achieved for our quality run-of-mine production, in the absence of a single stand-out stone, represents a great start for Mothae which augurs well for its future as a producer of exceptional diamonds and its contribution to the Bashotho nation.”