Name of the Project
Mothae kimberlite diamond mine.
Location
The project is located in the heart of the highest-value cluster of kimberlite mines in Lesotho, and within 5 km of Letšeng – the world’s highest dollar-per-carat kimberlite mine.
Client
Lucapa Diamonds.
Project Description
Lucapa has been reviewing the development plan, and optimising the pit design and mine plan to maximise targeted diamond production and cash flows from the advanced, high-value kimberlite deposit. Mothae has a Joint Ore Reserves Committee-compliant resource of one-million carats with much upside potential.
The new mine development plan has resulted in improvements to the original targeted Mothae development plan, as set out in announcements released in January and May.
The improvements in targeted kimberlite to be mined, carat production, net cash flows and mine life are derived primarily from increasing the size of the Phase 1 diamond plant from 100 t/h to 150 t/h, or 1.08-million tonnes a year, and pit optimisation reviews.
The larger 150 t/h plant can also be used more efficiently in the proposed Phase 2 Mothae development plan, under which a second 150 t/h module will be installed in parallel to the Phase 1 plant to achieve the targeted 300 t/h, or 2.16-million-tonne-a-year, Phase 2 throughput.
In addition to the larger plant, the pit design resulting from the new mine plan has been optimised and is set to extract kimberlite to about 300 m, compared with a total depth of 255 m in the original pit design and mining plan.
Conventional openpit mining methods will be used. Weathered kimberlite will be mined using free-dig load-and-haul methods; and unweathered kimberlite and waste will be mined using drill, blast and load-and-haul methods.
Potential Job Creation
Not stated.
Net Present Value/Internal Rate of Return
The prefinancing net present value, at a 10% discount rate, has increased from $65.1-million in the initial mine plan to $85.4-million in the new development plan.
The prefinancing internal rate of return has increased from 36% in the initial mine plan to 41% in the new development plan.
Value
The capital investment for Phase 1 has increased from $11.9-million to $17-million, while Phase 2 has decreased from $78.5-million in the initial mine plan to $60.5-million in the new development plan.
Duration
Construction of the Phase 1 150 t/h plant will be completed and hot-commissioned in the third quarter of 2018.
Latest Developments
None stated.
Key Contracts and Suppliers
None stated.
On Budget and on Time?
Too early to state.
Contact Details for Project Information
Lucapa Diamonds, tel +61 8 9381 5995, fax +61 8 9489 9201 or email general@lucapa.com.au.