Lucapa Diamond, which mines diamonds at its 40%-owned Lulo in Angola and its 70%-owned Mothae in Lesotho, reported a profit of $900,000 after tax in the first half of 2023, reversing a loss of $15.9 million in the corresponding period of the previous year.
It attributed the profit to the rising demand for diamonds and the successful operations of both mines.
The miner reported earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of $3.3 million for the half year from Mothae mine in Lesotho, which is an improvement from the $300,000 loss recorded in the prior-year half.
Improvements in revenue and decreases in operating expenses can be attributed to changes made to the facility in the first quarter.
It recorded an EBITDA of $6.1 million for the first half of the year at Lulo mine in Angola, down from $6.2 million in the same period last year.
Lulo, meanwhile, increased production by 18% to 15,367 carats in the first half, from 13,018 carats in the same period a year ago.
Diamonds of significant weight and worth were recovered throughout the first half of the year, including a 180-carat Type IIa white diamond in June (the third largest ever found at the mine), a 150-carat white Type IIa diamond in February, and a number of pink and yellow diamonds.
Mothae produced 15,560 carats in the first half, a decrease of 11% from the 17,493 carats produced in the first half of 2022.
Mathew Nyaungwa, Editor in Chief of the African Bureau, Rough&Polished
