Lucapa Diamond says the in-situ resource carats at Lulo mine, in Angola has increased by 25% to 100,700 carats.
The new diamond resource, it said, equates to more than five times Lulo’s production of about 19,000 carats in 2019, the fifth consecutive year of commercial alluvial production.
Image credit: Lucapa Diamond
The Lulo diamond resource was independently estimated and reconciled on a depletion and addition basis as at 31 December 2019 by external consultants, Z Star Mineral Resource Consultants, updating the previous resource dated 31 December 2018.
In addition, the estimate further puts the average dollar per carat value for Lulo diamonds modelled at $1,620, representing a 14% increase on the previous modelled estimate of $1,420 per carat.
Overall sales of Lulo diamonds to date total about $168 million at an average price per carat of $1,900.
“The updated Lulo Diamond Resource is the result of another significant workstream undertaken by the Lulo partners throughout 2019 in parallel with the ongoing alluvial mining and kimberlite exploration programmes,” said Lucapa managing director Stephen Wetherall.
“Together with the positive diamond marketing reforms introduced in Angola in 2019, the latest increase in both in-situ resource carats and average modelled price supports the investment made by the Lulo partners to expand diamond production and cash generation from 2020.”
He said Lucapa was confident that it can continue to build on the alluvial resource given the vast areas along the Cacuilo River valley which remain unexplored.
“With that in mind, and with the recent arrival on site of two additional auger rigs, we will see a significant step up in our resource-definition drilling and pitting programmes in 2020,” said Wetherall.
Mathew Nyaungwa, Editor in Chief of the African Bureau, Rough&Polished
