Lucapa Production Continues to Grow

RAPAPORT... Output at Lucapa Diamond Company hit a record in the fourth quarter, leading to its strongest annual production, the miner said Monday.Production for the three months ending December 31 increased 72% year on year to 14,007 carats from the company's Lulo mine in Angola and Mothae mine in Lesotho. The record was buoyed by Mothae, with production from the deposit more than tripling compared to the same period in 2018. The mine reached commercial production during the fourth quarter of last year. Output at Lulo fell 18% during the three months due to heavy rainfall toward the end of the year, as well as a halt in operations because of a labor strike, the company explained."Mothae processed record tonnes and recovered a record grade to produce a record 9,837 carats in the [fourth] quarter, for a 2019 total of more than 30,000 carats in its first year of production - 45% ahead of plan," the company noted.In 2019, the company produced 49,120 carats, its highest annual total, achieving an average price of $1,127 per carat. Combined sales from both mines came to $55 million. Lucapa recovered 357 special-size diamonds - over 10.8 carats - during the year, as well as five rough stones weighing more than 100 carats.Image: The Mothae mine. (Lucapa Diamond Company)