�Lesedi La Rona� to be showcased to Khama, cabinet
Staff Writer | Friday February 26, 2016 17:18
Karowe Mine last year produced the first diamond larger than 1,000 carats in more than a century that has established its Canadian owner, Lucara Diamond Corporation as a consistent producer of exceptional quality stones.
“The company is very pleased to be provided with the opportunity to soon showcase the historic Lesedi La Rona to the President of Botswana and his cabinet,” said Lucara in a statement.
Lucara president, William Lamb said the diamond is being kept in ‘a secure place within a secure facility’ in Gaborone.
The company is planning a road show to find buyers for the world’s second-biggest diamond and hopes to conclude a sale by the middle of the year.
“2015 was a year of strong operational delivery with the timely completion of our plant optimisation project and large diamond recovery, culminating in the recovery of the second and sixth largest gem quality diamonds ever to be unearthed.
In 2016 we are focused on completing the installation of our Mega Diamond Recovery circuit as well as organic growth at Karowe through our deep drilling and exploration programmes in Botswana.
“The diamond market experienced some weakening in 2015 and we retain a cautious outlook on diamond prices for 2016. We believe the long term fundamentals for the diamond market remain strong and with the outstanding quality of our Karowe production, which will be increasingly from the high value south lobe, Lucara is in an excellent position for continued financial growth and we remain committed to achieving strong returns for our shareholders,” said Lamb.
On the back of the exceptional stones at Karowe, Lucara improved full-year earnings by 70 percent. For 2015, the Vancouver-headquartered miner reported net income of $77.8-million, which was derived from sales of 377,136 carats of diamonds, for gross proceeds of $223.8-million at an average price of $593 per carat. Lucara reported strong prices for its exceptional stone sales, which resulted in an average price of $31,597/carats in 2015, for 3,114 carats sold, compared against an average price of $32,471 per carat in 2014, for 4,176 carats sold.
Karowe is now expected to produce more than 350,000 carats of diamonds in 2016, and revenue was expected to total between $200 million to $220 million, excluding the high-value inventory.