Africa continues to yield rare and large diamonds such as the 122.52-carat blue diamond found in South Africa by Petra Diamonds in 2014.
On Friday, Lucapa Diamond Company (ASX: LOM), a junior Australian miner based in Perth, announced the recovery of a 38.6-carat pink diamond from its Lulo Diamond Project in Angola.
The find breaks the previous record of 28.5-carat light pink diamond in Lucapa’s recent sales parcel of 3,642 carats sold for a combined amount of US$4.4 million (A$5.8 million). Lucapa finds diamonds while digging trenches at the core of the diamond source, the kimberlite pipe, a type of rock deposit where diamonds form.
However, while the bulk of pink diamonds – which are rare – is produced at the Argyle mine in Western Australia, Angola was where Lucapa found in February a 404.2-carat stone weighing 80 grammes, the largest diamond recovered in the African country. It was sold for US$16 million (A$22.5 million).
Before that, the previous biggest diamond discovered in Angola was a 217.4-carat gem found in 2007, reports Business Insider Australia. By value, Angola is the fourth largest diamond producer, while by volume it is the sixth largest.
Lulo is found 150 kilometres from the Catoca mine in Alrosa. It is the fourth largest diamond mine in the world which hosts type-2a diamonds that account for less than 1 percent of global supply, notes Mining.com. Lucapa has a 35-year licence for the project.
Source: International Business Times
