First Large Diamond for 2021 Recovered at Lucara’s Karowe Diamond Mine

Lucara Diamond Corporation, a Canadian diamond mining company, the sole owner and operator of the Karowe diamond mine in Botswana, announced on January 14, 2021, the recovery of an unbroken 341-carat, top white gem-quality diamond, the first large diamond to be recovered from the mine in the new year 2021 and the 54th over 200-carat diamond to be recovered since 2015.

Lucara 341 carat diamond
Lucara 341 carat diamond

Lucara’s 100% owned Karowe diiamond mine is reputed to be one of the world’s topmost producers of large, high quality, Type 11a diamonds in excess of 10.8 carats, includiing some of the significantly large diamonds, such as the historic 1,758-carat Sewelo diamond, the 1,109-carat Lesedi La Rona diamond, 813-carat Constellation diamond, 549-carat Sethunya diamond, and the 342-carat Queen of the Kalahari diamond, of which the 813-carat Constellation sold for a record USD 63.1 million. The most recent recovery of a large, high-quality, Type 11a diamond was the recovery of the unnamed, unbroken, 998-carat high white cleavage diamond, believed to be the 5th largest diamond ever recovered, and the second +500-carat diamond recovered from Karowe in 2020.

813 carat constellation diamond
813 carat constellation diamond

The Company reported that the 341-carat diamond was recovered during the holiday period from the milling of ore sourced from the southwestern quadrant of the South Lobe M/PK(S) unit, renowned for the recovery of large gem-quality diamonds.

1109 carat lesedi la rona rough diamond
1109 carat lesedi la rona rough diamond

Commenting on the latest recovery Lucara’s CEO, Eira Thomas said, “Lucara is extremely pleased to be starting off 2021 with the recovery of a 341-carat high quality white gem diamond that builds on previous historic recoveries, which include the 549-carat Sethunya, 1758-carat Sewelo, the 1109-carat Lesedi La Rona and the 342-carat Queen of Kalahari. The 341-carat diamond represents the 54th diamond greater than 200 carats to be recovered from Karowe since 2015. The consistent recovery of these large diamonds is a testament to the continued strong resource and plant performance at Karowe and underpins our rationale for moving forward with the underground expansion program that will see mining continue for at least another 13 years after the open-pit ceases operations in 2026. We look forward to a productive and busy 2021.”

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