TORONTO (miningweekly.com) – Southern Africa-focused diamond producer Lucara Diamond Corp on Wednesday said its first special tender of large and exceptional diamonds had fared exceptionally well, confirming the quality of diamonds mined from its flagship Karowe mine, in Botswana.
The special tender of Karowe diamonds consisted of 15 single stone lots, and sold for gross revenues of $24.85-million, or $30 468/ct.
"We are ecstatic with the results of this special tender and it confirms the quality of diamonds currently being produced from Karowe,” president and CEO William Lamb said.
The highest value stone was the 239 ct diamond, which sold for $5.75-million, while four other diamonds sold for more than $2.5-million each.
This special tender followed hot on the heels of the company's third regular tender, which closed last week.
Lamb pointed out the recovery of large and exceptional diamonds could not be accurately predicted, but that the recovery of blue diamonds and now a population of large diamonds were making Karowe a remarkable deposit.
“To be in a position to hold a large stone tender within the first year of production is exceptional, especially when considering that all the diamonds sold were recovered from a regular production cycle,” Lamb said.
TSX- and Botswana Stock Exchange-listed Lucara added that several more large diamonds were recently recovered from the mine, and management was considering options for holding another large-stone tender later in the year.
The company had modified the top size of material that the process plant could treat, which had ensured the continued recovery of larger-than-expected diamonds.