Lucara Diamond Corp continues to make progress with the feasibility study for a potential underground operation at its 100%-owned and operated Karowe diamond mine, in Botswana.
Following the release of a positive preliminary economic assessment (PEA), the company last year embarked on a technical programme to support a feasibility study for a potential underground operation at Karowe, with the aim of extending the mine life from 2026 to at least 2036.
AdvertisementThis programme included a mineral resource update, geotechnical drilling of the country rock and AK06 kimberlites, hydrogeological drilling and modelling, and mining trade-off studies to address risks and issues identified during the PEA.
A total of $23-million was spent out of a 2018 budget of $29-million in support of this work and resulted in considerable de-risking of the key technical components associated with the potential underground development.
AdvertisementAn updated resource model had been completed in the second quarter of 2018, with indicated resources increasing by 54% in the south lobe. Activities also confirmed the increased contribution of EM/PK(S), a higher-grade, higher-value ore unit, with depth.
Further, four deep hydrogeological drill holes were completed, which encountered minimal water strikes at depth and successfully de-risked key water aspects of the project.
More than 20 000 m of geotechnical drilling were also completed to help inform the selection of a final underground mining method.
A $14.8-million budget was approved to complete the 2019 technical programme and final feasibility study.
“The updated mineral resource completed in 2018 highlighted the important contribution of the higher-grade, higher-value EM/PK(S) geological unit as we mine deeper in the south lobe and has necessarily re-focused our approach to the Karowe underground study,” Lucara CEO Eira Thomas commented in a statement on Thursday.
“Historically, we now know that the EM/PK(S) has produced some of Karowe’s most valuable diamonds, including the 1 109 ct Lesedi La Rona and the 813 ct Constellation. In 2019, we will be evaluating various mining scenarios that have the potential to access this valuable ore as early as possible in the underground mining schedule,” she added.
Thomas also mentioned that the company’s 2018 work programme included the successful completion of a deep hydrogeological drilling campaign, which did not encounter significant water and has substantially de-risked the overall underground project.
The company has also appointed Gord Doerksen and JDS Energy and Mining to the feasibility team to direct the study and provide Lucara with a fit-for-purpose underground mine design that will work to optimise and maximise the economic returns of the underground project.
The feasibility study is slated for completion in the second half of this year.