Canada-headquartered diamond miner Lucara Diamond Corp. recovered an unbroken 998-carat high white clivage diamond from its 100% owned Karowe Diamond Mine located in Botswana.
The diamond, measuring 67x49x45mm follows a notable series of diamond recoveries during this recent production run, including a number of top quality clivage and gem quality stones of 273, 105, 83, 73, and 69 carats in weight.
Year to date, Karowe has produced 31 diamonds greater than 100 carats including 10 diamonds greater than 200 carats comprising the 549-carat Sethunya, and the 998-carat diamond. In accordance with the partnership between Lucara and HB Antwerp regarding all diamonds greater than 10.8 carats produced from Karowe, both companies are evaluating the next steps in order to maximise the value of this rare large diamond.
Eira Thomas, CEO commented: “Lucara is extremely pleased with the continued recovery of large high quality diamonds from the South Lobe of the Karowe mine. To recover two +500 carat diamonds in 10 months along with the many other high quality diamonds across all the size ranges is a testament to the unique aspect of the resource at Karowe and the mine’s ability to recover these large and rare diamonds.
“Operations at Karowe have continued through 2020 and operational challenges, due to Covid-19 restrictions, have been met with professionalism by the team. We look forward to a safe finish to 2020 and continued success at Karowe as we remain focussed on strong operations to ensure maximum resource performance.”
In a separate statement, Lucara reported strong sales and operational results for the quarter that ended September 30, 2020. The company realised $41.3 million in revenue during Q3 2020 or $365 per carat. This includes diamonds sold through a combination of regular tenders and Clara as well as 5,633 carats sold through HB Antwerp under the supply agreement announced in July 2020.