Lucapa's Mothae Stones Fetch $3.5M

RAPAPORT... Lucapa Diamond Company garnered $3.5 million at the secondtender of diamonds from its Mothae mine in Lesotho, with stones selling for upto $26,000 per carat, it said Wednesday. The miner sold 7,008 carats of rough stones at the Antwerptender, and based on the results, is considering a third sale in the secondquarter. That tender would include a 126-carat diamond the Australia-based minerrecovered earlier this month, as well as other type IIa stones weighing 15carats, 13 carats and 12 carats. Lucapa began commercial production at Mothaein January. Including the proceeds from this tender, Lucapa has broughtin revenue of $7.3 million from sales of Mothae diamonds this year. The stoneshave fetched an average overall price of $588 per carat for regular production,and $729 per carat for diamonds in +11 sieve sizes. To date, mining at Mothae has been restricted to the lower-valueportion of the deposit due to water in the higher-value southern pit. In thesecond half of the fiscal year, the miner will complete construction on a damwall that will enable it to begin processing ore from thathigher-value area, it noted. "We continue to be encouraged by the regular recovery ofspecials, and sales results achieved from the supposed lower-margin areasof...Mothae," said Lucapa managing director Stephen Wetherall. Image: Image: Rough diamonds from the Mothae tender. (Lucapa Diamond Company)