Lucapa Diamond, an Australian company listed on the ASX under the ticker symbol LOM, has announced the recovery of a significant 203-carat diamond from its renowned Lulo mine in Angola. This remarkable find stands as the fifth-largest diamond ever unearthed at the operation.
Remarkably, this discovery marks the third occurrence of a 100-carat-plus stone at Lulo within the current year alone, emphasizing the exceptional productivity of the mine. Lucapa revealed that the latest find, categorized as a high-quality type IIa diamond, was retrieved during the processing of run-of-mine stockpiled ore. It follows closely on the heels of the recovery of a 162-carat diamond, swiftly succeeded by a 116-carat stone, in consecutive days last month.
The Lulo mine, renowned for yielding some of the world’s highest dollar-per-carat alluvial diamonds, commenced commercial production in January 2015. Within a year of operation, the mine achieved a milestone by yielding Angola’s largest-ever diamond—a 404-carat white stone subsequently christened the “4th February Stone.”
Lucapa Diamond holds a 40% interest in the Lulo mine, with the remaining stakes owned by Angola’s national diamond company, Endiama, and Rosas & Petalas, a private entity.
Angola ranks as the world’s fifth-largest diamond producer by value and sixth by volume. The country’s diamond industry, tracing its origins back to a century ago under Portuguese colonial rule, is currently undergoing a successful process of liberalization.
