Lucapa Diamond Company Limited has raised funds to the tune of ZAR 100 million (US$ 7 million) for the development of the Mothae kimberlite diamond mine (Lucapa 70%; Government of the Kingdom of Lesotho 30%) in Lesotho. The funding has been procured from the Industrial Development Corporation of South Africa (IDC).

“The funding from the IDC, which is one of the largest development financiers in southern Africa, followed the execution of the loan and ancillary agreements and completion of all conditions precedent to the approved Term Sheet, as announced to the ASX on 25 October 2018,” Lucapa said today.

Apart from this funding, the Company also received proceeds of ZAR 20.6 million (~US$1.5 million) from the sale of approximately 4,000 carats of rough diamonds which were “recovered from various campaigns, in which material from multiple sources was processed through the bulk sampling plant”, the Company said.  

“The sale included prices of up to US$ 15,000 per carat for individual diamonds,” Lucapa noted.

The Company reiterated – following its announcement to the effect in early December – that commercial diamond recoveries have now commenced through the new 1.1Mtpa Mothae treatment plant, which is being ramped up to its nameplate capacity.

“The new Mothae plant includes advanced diamond recovery technology including two XRT modules designed to recover large and rare Type IIa diamonds ahead of the secondary crushing circuits to avoid breakage,” Lucapa said.

The first sale of commercial diamonds from Mothae is scheduled for Q1 2019.

Pic Cap: The new 1.1Mtpa Mothae diamond plant

Pic Courtesy: Lucapa Diamond Company Limited