Mothae Yields Its Largest High-Quality Rough

RAPAPORT... Lucapa Diamond Company recovered a 215-carat rough from its Mothae mine in Lesotho, the largest high-quality stone it has found at the deposit.The D-color, white, type IIa diamond is the second stone over 200 carats the miner has unearthed since it began commercial operations at the site in 2019, it said Wednesday. The other, a 220-carat, low-quality stone, was discovered in November 2019 during the reprocessing of ore tailings. Lucapa has recovered five diamonds weighing more than 100 carats from Mothae."Lucapa and [the Lesotho government] aim to further increase the frequency in recovery of these large and valuable diamonds," said Lucapa managing director Stephen Wetherall. "[This] validates the recent investment decision to expand capacity at the mine."In December, Lucapa sold 6% of its company stock to Graff subsidiary Safdico for $2.1 million. It intends to use those funds to expand Mothae, a move that will increase output at the site by 60%. The miner already had an offtake agreement with Safdico to purchase 100% of rough from Mothae for a period of two-and-a-half years. That deal also includes up to 60% of the rough from Lucapa's Lulo mine in Angola.Image: The 215-carat rough diamond. (Lucapa Diamond Company)