Lucapa Diamond says the in-situ resource carats at its 40%-owned Lulo diamond mine, in Angola, has increased by 35% to 135,900 carats from 100 000 carats in 2019.
However, the COVID-19 pandemic's effect on achieved diamond prices in 2020 resulted in the modelled value reducing to $1,440 per carat from $1,620 per carat, a year earlier.
"The increases in the Lulo Diamond Resource over the last few years is a direct result of disciplined investment in the alluvial exploration and delineation programmes by [Sociedade Mineira Do Lulo]," said Lucapa Managing Director Stephen Wetherall.
"The 35% increase in carats to [about] 136,000 carats is a new record for carats in the Lulo Diamond Resource notwithstanding six years of mining depletion."
He said this year's update highlights the valuable contribution of the newly delineated leziria areas which have provided a stream of top-quality recoveries.
Lucapa said 112,000 carats of diamonds had been recovered to date and sold for a total of $200 million at an average price of $1,790 per carat.
Mathew Nyaungwa, Editor in Chief of the African Bureau, Rough&Polished
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