Lucara Diamond has raked-in $5.64 million from the first sale of its diamonds from the Karowe Mine, in Botswana.
The miner said in a statement emailed to Rough&Polished that it sold 26,196 carats.
A total of 35 individual lots containing 29,339 carats of diamond were put up for sale through a on-line auction system, it said.
However, only 30 lots were sold at an average diamond value of $215/ct.
“With the first sale of Karowe production Lucara has achieved the final milestone in its transition to an operating company,” company chief executive and president William Lamb said. “It is a direct reflection of the current status of global markets that not all diamonds were sold during this first auction, however, we are extremely bullish about the market outlook overall and look forward to our future sales.”
He said the ramp-up to full production was making good progress with the primary focus being on early development of the mine dewatering systems.
It was envisaged that ramp-up to full production would continue into the third quarter of 2012.
Mathew Nyaungwa, Editor in Chief of the African Bureau, Rough&Polished
