Lucapa Tender Yields $10M

RAPAPORT... Lucapa Diamond Company earned $10.4 million fromits latest sale of rough stones, bringing its total for the year to date to$45.9 million. The miner sold 5,469 carats from its Lulo mine inAngola for $5.9 million, at an average price of $1,087 per carat, it reportedThursday. This figure does not include a 46-carat pink diamond recovered lastyear that is currently being assessed for polishing. In addition, the company sold a total of 5,307carats from its Mothae mine in Lesotho, netting $4.4 million at an averageprice of $837 per carat. This is more than double the average achieved duringits last tender, in August, largely due to the inclusion of a 36-carat, D-colorstone and a 64-carat, D-color, type IIa diamond, which Lucapa held over fromthe earlier sale. So far this year, Lulo rough hasyielded $32.4 million, while Mothae stones have netted $13.5 million. Production from Lulo rose sharply in the thirdquarter, with the mine recovering 7,603 carats, representing a 67% increase versusthe same period in 2018. The miner also produced a record 7,007 carats atMothae - its highest quarterly result since commercial production began at thestart of 2019. Image: Rough diamonds from the Mothae sale parcel. (Lucapa Diamond Company)