Lucapa Release Q4 2018 Results

Australian gem miner Lucapa Diamond (ASX:LOM) has released its quarterly activities report for the fourth quarter of 2018. The overview also entails two of the company’s most important milestones in its history.

As quoted from the press release:

Lucapa is a global diamond group with high-quality mines and exploration projects in Angola (Lulo alluvial mine and kimberlite/source exploration), Lesotho (Mothae kimberlite mine), Australia (Brooking diamondiferous lamproite discovery) and Botswana (Orapa Area F kimberlite exploration). Lucapa’s focus on high-quality diamond production is designed to maximise cash flows in a niche sector of the global diamond market where demand and pricing remain robust.

Lucapa, with its respective project partners, made significant advancements across its suite of
diamond projects during the Quarter, including:

• Construction and commissioning of the new Mothae 1.1Mtpa kimberlite diamond mine in LesothoFirst commercial diamond recoveries from the South East domain of the Mothae kimberlite pipeat double the resource and forecast grades, including six Specials of up to 78 carats

•  Finalisation and draw-down of a ZAR100m (US$7m) Mothae project development facility withleading southern African financier, the Industrial Development Corporation of South Africa,enabling Lucapa to be repaid US$3m in a first repayment instalment of its development loan toMothae

• Continued production of large and premium-value diamonds at record annual throughput rates at the Lulo mine in Angola, the world’s highest US$ per carat alluvial diamond production

•  Discovery of a new alluvial source of large and premium-value diamonds at Lulo within the extensive flood plains along the Cacuilo River valley, including top-colour Specials of up to 55 carats

• Increasing to 68 the number of confirmed kimberlites at Lulo in the current systematic drillingcampaign

•  Finalisation of an historic agreement to sell select Lulo production via an international competitive bid process scheduled to close on 31 January 2019

• Declaration of a US$4 million loan repayment to Lucapa from Lulo mining company SML and a pro-rata US$4 million distribution to Lulo partners

• Completion of an exploration program at Brooking in Western Australia to follow up on the spectacular Little Spring Creek lamproite discovery, with results pending.

Click here to read the full announcement