Lucapa Discovers New Diamond Resource in Angola

Australian precious gem producer Lucapa Diamond (ASX:LOM) has discovered a new source of large and premium diamonds at its Lulo diamond project in Angola.

Lulo is Lucapa’s flagship asset and the primary focus of the gemstone miner. To date, Lulo has produced 11 100+ carat diamonds and is considered to have the highest US dollar per carat alluvial diamond production in the world.

The new find was made during an exploration program focused on the extensive flood plains also known as the Leziria areas, located along the Cacuilo River valley, which stretches for roughly 50 km within the Lulo diamond concession.

Despite only testing one floodplain area so far, Lucapa unearthed 17 special diamonds — gems 10.8 carats in size or smaller — including one 55 carat type IIa d-color white diamond, which the company describes as ‘exceptional.’

In total, 1,502 carats were recovered during the initial exploration of the single floodplain area. Testing was performed on 11,155 bulk cubic meters of earth, pegging the diamond grade at 13.5 carats per 100 cubic meters.

The average size of the newly recovered stones was roughly 1.4 carats.

Now that the flood plain nearest mining block 31 has been assessed, Lucapa plans on testing additional areas of the plain.

In addition to the work at Lulo, the company also holds a 70-percent interest in the advanced Mothae kimberlite project in Lesotho. The Mothae kimberlite pipe is located 5 km away from the Letšeng mine, owned by British diamond producer Gem Diamonds (LSE:GEMD).

The Letšeng mine is considered to be the highest US dollar per carat kimberlite diamond mine in the world.

At its adjacent property, Lucapa has begun commissioning a new 1.1metric tonnes per annum (Mtpa) diamond treatment plant, outfitted with XRT recovery technology.

The gem miner also has two exploration projects underway, one at Brooking in the West Kimberley province of Western Australia and the Orapa Area F project in Botswana.

Shares of Lucapa were flat on Tuesday (November 6), trading at AU$0.215.

Image courtesy of Lucapa 

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Securities Disclosure: I, Georgia Williams, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.