Lucara Diamond invested $18.7 million to progress the underground expansion project at its wholly-owned Karowe mine, in Botswana, reads parts of the company’s sustainability report for 2020.
The company executed a mandate for a senior secured project financing package of up to $220 million to fund the underground expansion of Karowe in March this year.
A syndicate of five international financial institutions, including ING Bank N.V., Natixis, Societe Generale, London Branch, Africa Finance Corporation, and Afreximbank will act as the Mandated Lead Arrangers.
Lucara said the closing of the facilities is targeted to be mid-2021, with financing in place for the second half of 2021.
The feasibility study on extending the life of Karowe by transitioning from an open pit to an underground mining operation was published in December 2019.
This expansion project, which has an estimated capital cost of $514 million, continued to advance in 2020 focused on time critical-path items, detailed engineering and design, and limited earthworks and geotechnical studies, it said.
Mathew Nyaungwa, Editor in Chief of the African Bureau, Rough&Polished
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