Releasing its operating guidance for the year 2020, Lucara Diamond Corp. said it expects revenues to be between US$180 million and US$210 million for the period.

Lucara said these projections include “Specials” (diamonds of + 10.8 carats) and larger, but exclude the sale of any “truly unique diamonds” such as the 1,109 carat Lesedi la Rona and the 813 carat Constellation. “Specials are consistently recovered from the Karowe diamond mine and contribute a significant percentage of the Company’s annual revenue,” the Company stressed.

While diamond recoveries are projected to be between 370,000 carats and 410,000 carats; the Company expects sales of between 350,000 carats and 390,000 carats of diamonds.

On the production front, Lucara expects 3.5 million and 3.9 million tonnes of ore to be mined, with waste mining projected to be between 3.6 million and 4.2 million tonnes; from which between 2.5 million and 2.8 million tonnes are forecast to be processed.

The Company stated that a capital expenditure of up to US$53 million has been approved for early works related to the proposed underground mine at the Karowe Diamond Mine. “An investment decision, subject to receipt of all required authorizations and the arrangement of financing, is expected in H2 2020,” Lucara said.

Karowe’s 2020 operating cash costs are forecast to be between US$32.00 - US$36.00 per tonne processed.  

Eira Thomas, President & CEO commented: “Building upon the strong operating performance achieved in 2019, Lucara will continue to focus in 2020 on optimising the base business, growing Clara by adding third party production to the platform and preparing for an underground expansion at Karowe following the announcement of a positive feasibility study earlier this month. Anticipated cash flow from operations in 2020 should allow us to pursue early works which are critical to the underground development schedule, while at the same time allowing us to leverage our balance sheet to finance the project in a cost-effective manner.”

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