Lucara Diamond Corp. a Canadian diamond mining company with producing mine and exploration licenses in Botswana and a 100% ownership of the Botswana Karowe mine, the world’s foremost producer of large, high quality, Type IIA diamonds, announced on November 10, 2020, the recovery of an unbroken 998 carat high white cleavage diamond, with dimensions of 67 x 49 x 45 mm. This recovery is the second +500 carat diamond recovered from the Karowe Mine in 2020.
The new find weighing in at an enormous 998 carats, was found using new technology that has allowed Karowe to become one of world’s foremost producers of large, high quality, Type IIA diamonds including the historic 1,758 Sewelô, the 1,109 carat Lesedi La Rona and the 813 carat Constellation.
The 998 carat diamond was recovered in the MDR (“Mega Diamond Recovery”) XRT circuit that allows for diamond recovery post primary crushing and prior to milling of ore, sourced from the EM/PK(S) unit of the South Lobe. This recovery represents the second +500 carat diamond recovered from this circuit in 2020. Year to date, Karowe has produced 31 diamonds greater than 100 carats including 10 diamonds greater than 200 carats comprising of the 549 carat Sethunya, and the 998 carat diamond.
The EM/PK(S) forms an important economic driver for the proposed underground mine at Karowe and continues to produce large gem-quality diamonds in line with expectations, a further testament to the strong resource performance at Karowe.
As a part of a deal Lucara signed earlier this year with HB Antwerp, HB will cut and market the diamond, with Lucara getting a portion of the final polished price. In accordance with this partnership regarding all diamonds greater than 10.8 carats produced from Karowe, both companies are evaluating the next steps in order to maximize the value of this rare large diamond.
Commenting on the latest find, Lucara CEO Eira Thomas said, “Lucara is extremely pleased with the continued recovery of large high quality diamonds from the South Lobe of the Karowe mine. To recover two +500 carat diamonds in 10 months along with the many other high quality diamonds across all the size ranges is a testament to the unique aspect of the resource at Karowe and the mine’s ability to recover these large and rare diamonds. Operations at Karowe have continued through 2020 and operational challenges, due to Covid-19 restrictions, have been met with professionalism by the team. We look forward to a safe finish to 2020 and continued success at Karowe as we remain focussed on strong operations to ensure maximum resource performance.”