(IDEX Online) - Lucara has announced the death of its founder and former chairman Lukas Lundin at the age of 64, after a two-year battle with brain cancer.He was the driving force behind the Canada-based Lundin Group of Companies, which employs 15,000 people globally in energy and mining.And in 2007 he established Lucara, the diamond mining company that owns the Karowe mine in Botswana. It is known for its large, high quality, Type IIa stones, among them three over 1,000 carats.Lucara founding partners, director Catherine McLeod-Seltzer, and CEO Eira Thomas, said: "Lukas will be remembered as a visionary, a man of true conviction who was never afraid to swim against the tide once the value of an opportunity became apparent. "His critical, financial sponsorship of the acquisition and development of the successful Karowe diamond mine in Botswana, which has operated continuously since 2012 and generated over $2bn in revenues to date, is a testament to this vision."Pic courtesy Lucara of Lukas Lundin