Lucara Names Eira Thomas as CEO

RAPAPORT... Eira Thomas has taken over as CEO of Lucara Diamond Corp.,replacing William Lamb, the miner said Sunday.Thomas (pictured), who has worked in the mining industry for 25 years, is a founder and director of Lucara, and a cofounder and former CEO ofStornoway Diamond Corporation. Lamb will step down from his position onthe board of directors, but will continue with Lucara in an advisory role.The change, effective immediately, comes alongside Lucara's acquisition of ClaraDiamond Solutions, a digital sales platform for rough stones that usesanalytics, cloud technologies and blockchain to modernize the supply chain andconfirm diamond provenance from mine to finger. Lucara has bought the company -of which Thomas was a shareholder - for about $23 million (CAD 29million) in Lucara shares, according to a separate statement Sunday."Clara will not only modernize the entire diamond salesprocess, but unlock additional value for all participants across the diamondmarket," said Lukas Lundin, chairman of Lucara. "Given Eira's deepunderstanding of our business and her relationships across the diamond world,she is uniquely positioned to lead both Lucara's operating business and thisexciting new initiative."Lucara's revenue and profit fell in 2017, largelydue to a drop in sales of exceptional diamonds. Lucara's share price has fallen 30%since December 30, 2016.