Lucapa Diamond (ASX: LOM) announced Monday the recovery of the fifth stone larger than 100 carats found this year, a 176-carat Type IIa diamond from the Lulo alluvial mine in Angola.
The stone is the 45th larger than 100 carats to be recovered from Lulo and the eighth largest, since alluvial operations began in 2015, the company said.
In 2021, Lucapa announced a 35% increase in the resource carats at Lulo, and the mine’s in-situ resource now sits at 135,900 carats at a modelled average diamond value of US$1,440 per carat.
The continual recovery of these and other large, high-value diamonds has been a help in exploring for kimberlites, the diamond-bearing shafts of ancient volcanos, and been a major source of revenue for Lulo over the years. In December 2023, Lucapa fetched US$17 million for four diamonds recovered from Lulo.
Lucapa continues to hunt for the source of these large gems in a program that is currently bulk sampling kimberlites near the mining blocks where the 176-carat diamond was recovered.
“The recovery of this 176-carat diamond is yet more confirmation of the massive potential of the kimberlite province where we are focussing our exploration efforts to find the source(s) of these magnificent gems,” Lucapa CEO Nick Selby said in a news release. “As can be seen from the image, the diamond has not travelled far as it still displays sharp, angular edges.”
The firm has a 40% stake in Lulo, which hosts the world’s highest dollar-per-carat alluvial diamonds. The rest is held by Angola’s national diamond company, Endiama, and Rosas & Petalas, a private entity.
Shares in Lucapa Diamond closed nearly 3% higher on Monday in Sydney at A7.2¢ (6.5¢) apiece, valuing the company at A$20.9 million. They’ve traded in a 52-week range of A5.8¢ to A22¢.
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