Lucapa Diamond is making progress on its kimberlite exploration programme in Angola, which seeks to identify the hard-rock sources of exceptional alluvial diamonds mined along the Cacuilo River at Lulo.
It said that bulk sampling of priority Lulo kimberlites will begin in June as delineation drilling programme continues in the high-interest Canguige catchment area.
Image credit: Lucapa
“The kimberlite bulk sampling campaign which is set to commence at L071 next month is built on the results of many years of exploration work undertaken by Lucapa and its partners to unlock Lulo’s true potential – in order to find the hard-rock sources of the rare and valuable alluvial diamonds we are recovering along the Cacuilo River,” said Lucapa managing director Stephen Wetherall.
“We and our partners look forward to advancing our kimberlite bulk sampling and delineation drilling workstreams throughout the Angolan dry season and updating shareholders with results as they come to hand.”
He said the exploration programmes will continue in parallel with their alluvial mining operations at Lulo, where recent recoveries included a 171 carat gem-quality white diamond – the 15th +100 carat stone recovered to date along the Cacuilo River.
The current phase of the Lulo kimberlite exploration programme commenced in 2019 after a detailed technical review of all previous results highlighted 16 kimberlites and eight other targets as being the most prospective to host diamonds.
Mathew Nyaungwa, Editor in Chief of the African Bureau, Rough&Polished
