Lucapa Diamond (ASX:LOM), together with its partners in the Lulo alluvial mine, Endiama and Rosas & Petalas, announced on Monday that four diamonds recovered from the Lulo mine in Angola have been tendered for A$26 million ($17.06 million).
The tender was conducted by Sodiam E.P. in Luanda and the 609 carat Lulo parcel consisted of 4 type IIa diamonds weighing 41 carats, 123 carats, 208 carats and 235 carats respectively.
In addition to Lulo, Lucapa has a 70% interest in the Mothae mine in Lesotho. The large, high quality diamonds produced from these two niche African diamond mines attract some of the highest prices per carat in the world, the Australian miner said.
The Lulo mine has been in commercial production since 2015, while the Mothae mine will begin commercial production in 2019.
“The outcome of this tender is very encouraging as it once again clearly demonstrates the strength of the market for these exceptional, rare and high value stones, of which Lulo is a consistent producer,” Lucapa CEO and managing director Nick Selby said in a news release.
“This is a positive result for Lucapa in a year when the diamond industry in general has suffered from weak pricing,” Selby said.
“With India about to resume rough diamond imports and Russian diamonds potentially being restricted from entering the market in 2024, we are optimistic that we will see improvement and stability in diamond prices across all sectors of the market in the new year.”
