Australia's Lucapa Diamond (ASX: LOM) has kicked off 2021 with a bang with its recovery of a 113 carat gem-quality diamond from its Lulo mine in Angola, the seventeenth rock over 100 carats found at the asset.
The company said the discovery was "particularly significant" as it demonstrated that large, high-value diamonds are present in the area that is the focus of its exploration program.
"This recovery builds on the performance of Lulo in the latter half of 2020 and bodes well for the coming months as mining focuses on the southern terrace mining blocks during the wet season," managing director Stephen Wetherall said in a press release.
Lucapa noted the diamond is the first find at Mining Block 46, downstream of the Canguige river.
The company has a 40% stake in Lulo, which hosts the world's highest dollar-per-carat alluvial diamonds. The rest is held by Angola's national diamond company (Endiama) and Rosas & Petalas, a private entity.
Angola is the world's fifth diamond producer by value and number six by volume. Its diamond industry, which began a century ago under Portuguese colonial rule, is successfully being liberalized.
This article first appeared in MINING.com, part of Glacier Resource Innovation Group.