TORONTO (miningweekly.com) – Southern Africa-focused diamond producer Lucara Diamond on Thursday said its flagship Karowe mine, in diamond-rich Botswana, had produced 12% more diamonds than expected during 2012.
The Karowe mine produced 303 060 ct of diamonds, above the forecast of 271 000 ct. The operation treated 1.4-million tons of material, 9% above that which had been expected in 2012, as the operation ramped up production from April, to full production in August.
Lucara said it held five sales of Karowe goods in 2012, which resulted in revenue of $54-million.
Diamond production included an exceptional 9.46 ct blue diamond, which sold for $4.5-million or $447 272/ct. Other smaller blue diamonds had subsequently been recovered, including a 4.77 ct diamond which would be sold this year.
Meanwhile, the company said an X-ray recovery tailings audit of diamond recovery tailings was completed at its Mothae project, in Lesotho, during the fourth quarter of 2012 and the project was now under care and maintenance while the company is mulling development options.
“Initial indications from the preliminary economic assessment work indicate that the project currently does not achieve required internal hurdle rates. This is due to the prevailing economic conditions, which have put downward pressure on diamond prices, and is further impacted by significantly higher capital for infrastructure, particularly power, for this remote site,” the company said.