Lucara recovers 1,094-carat diamond from Botswana mine
Lucara Diamond Corp. [LUC-TSX, LUCRF-OTC] says that for the second time this year, the company has recovered a diamond weighing over 1,000 carats from its 100%-owned Karowe Diamond mine in Botswana.
This time, the company has announced the recovery of a 1,094-carat rough diamond from the Karowe mine. This remarkable stone bears striking similarities to the 692-carat diamond announced in August, 2023, which was published by HB Antwerp and yielded polished diamonds that sold for in excess of US$13 million, the company said in a press release. Lucara said it can confirm that the newly recovered 1,094-carat stone will also be published by HB Antwerp as part of the ongoing partnership between the two companies.
The newly recovered 1,094-carat diamond, the sixth stone in excess of 1,000 carats recovered by Lucara, continues the company’s track record of recovering large, high value stones from the EMPKS ore type in the South Lobe of the Karowe mine. “Its exceptional size and quality underscore the company’s position as the leading producer of large, high-quality diamonds,’’ the company said.
“These continued discoveries of large, high value diamonds demonstrate the consistent quality of our resource and its ability to deliver substantial returns,’’ said Lucara CEO William Lamb. “As we progress with our underground development, we’re increasingly confident in Karowe’s capacity to produce these legendary diamonds well into the future, cementing our position in the high end of the market,’’ he said.
Lucara shares advancing on the news, rising 6.7% or $0.03 to 47.5 cents. The shares trade in a 52-week range of 63 cents and 28.5 cents.
Lucara was on the news recently when it announced the recovery of an exceptional 2,492-carat diamond from  Karowe.
“This remarkable find, one of the largest rough diamonds ever unearthed, was detected and recovered by the company’s Mega Diamond Recovery X-ray Transmission technology, which was installed in 2017 to identify and preserve large, very high value diamonds,’’ the company said
Published reports say the 2,492-carat diamond may rank as the second largest gem-quality example ever found, ranking behind the 3,106 carat Cullinan diamond, which was mined from South Africa in 1905.
Th recovery of such a large stone joins an impressive roster of other significant finds from the mine, including the 1,758 carat Sewelo and the 1,109 carat Lesedi la Rona.
Lucara said the underground expansion at Karowe is expected to double the mine life, and to generate significant revenue and cash flow out to 2040.
Lucara is a member of the Lundin Group of companies. The currently operating open pit mine at Karowe is a conventional load and haul operation. The mine is a producer of large, high-value type 2a diamonds. It is the only mine to have produced four diamonds in excess of 1,000 carats in size.
The open pit mine operations are expected to terminate mid-2025. However, the mine currently has over three years of surface stockpiled reserves, which will be consumed as required while the underground mine operations ramp up to commercial production.