Lucapa on Track to Double Mining, Cash Flows at Lulo Concession

Lucapa Diamond Company Ltd. (ASX:LOM) announced that its plan to double mining and accelerate operational cash flows from its alluvial diamond-mining operations is on track. The first new Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) earth-moving equipment has arrived at the company’s Angola-based Lulo concession.

As quoted in the press release:

This follows the finalisation and signing of a A$4.5 million financing deal for Lucapa and its partners to source an additional fleet of new equipment on favourable terms from Caterpillar dealer Barloworld Equipment in the Angolan capital of Luanda (Refer ASX announcement 28 May 2015).

The new Caterpillar equipment being delivered to Lulo includes three 740B trucks, a 374F LR excavator, a 140M grader and a D8R bulldozer.

The first of the new 40 tonne trucks has already arrived at Lulo, with the remainder of the Caterpillar equipment due to arrive on site within two weeks.

The new fleet will enable Lucapa and its partners to double alluvial diamond mining operations at Lulo to 20,000 bulk cubic metres (bcm) per month, well ahead of schedule.

Lucapa expects diamond mining operations to be fully operational at the increased 20,000 bcm monthly rate by the end of the September 2015 quarter. This will result in a significant increase in operational cash flows earlier than originally scheduled.

The new equipment will also enable kimberlite diamond exploration programs to be advanced at Lulo. This includes the first scheduled bulk sampling in July 2015 of kimberlite material from the priority L46 kimberlite pipe at Lulo (Figure 1), which is considered to be a likely source of the high-grade diamonds recovered from previous bulk sampling work carried out at the E46 alluvial area.

Click here to read the full Lucapa Diamond Company Ltd. (ASX:LOM) press release.