Image credit: Lucara Diamond
The auction, which is taking place in Antwerp, Belgium closes today (18 June).
The company announced last month that the government of Botswana had temporarily granted it permission to conduct sales in Antwerp.
It then rescheduled its second quarter tender which was originally scheduled to close mid-May in Gaborone to Antwerp.
Despite the challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Karowe Mine continues to operate at full production levels, with social distancing and other critical health and safety measures designed to limit the spread of the virus being observed.
The global travel restrictions put in place to curb the spreading of Covid-19, has seriously affected diamond sales.
However, major diamond trading centres such as Antwerp and Dubai have since opened their trading floors.
Lucara realised revenue of $34.1 million from the sale of 86,178 carats in the first quarter of 2020, which was 10% lower compared to 95,053 carats sold for $48.7 million carats or $512 per carat, a year earlier.
The decrease in the average price per carat sold and in total revenue achieved in the first quarter of 2020 was due to a combination of variability in quality of the stones available for sale along with lower achieved prices similar to those realised in mid-2019.
Mathew Nyaungwa, Editor in Chief of the African Bureau, Rough&Polished
