ASX-listed Lucapa Diamonds' continued focus on operational and productivity improvements and reductions in operating costs at the Mothae mine, in Lesotho, and the Lulo mine, in Angola, enabled it to deliver robust results for the quarter ended September 30, despite the headwinds facing the diamond sector, MD Stephen Wetherall said on Thursday.
“The decline in global rough diamond demand throughout 2019, brought about by factors including macroeconomic uncertainty, rising inventories and liquidity issues in the midstream, has impacted on the revenues of all diamond producers and on industry sentiment.
“However, in line with the more recent tender results reported by other producers, we were encouraged to see a distinct uplift in competitive bidding in our most recent Mothae tender, which was reflected in the prices achieved,” he stated.
Lucapa continued its growth as a global producer of high-value diamonds in the September quarter, delivering record quarterly diamond production from the Lulo and Mothae mines, while also building on its cutting and polishing strategy to generate additional margins beyond the mine gate.
The results leave the Lucapa group on track to achieve its 2020 production target of 60 000 ct of high-value diamonds from both the Mothae and Lulo mines (on a 100% basis).
Against a backdrop of challenging global diamond market conditions, Mothae and Lulo achieved year-to-date sales of $38.2-million, with a further $10.4-million in sales already booked post quarter-end.