Lucapa Diamond Company and its partners in the Lulo mine in Angola – which include Angola’s national diamond company Endiama and Rosas & Petalas – broke records with the recent discovery of 20 high-grade diamonds.
The partners have recovered 28 stones exceeding 100 carats in the Lulo mine in 2022 alone, which is home to the highest dollar-per-carat alluvial diamonds globally.
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Recovered from the initial processing of around 20% of the kimberlite bulk sample, the diamonds weigh a combined 15.51 carats and represent the highest diamond count and carat weight of diamonds recovered from any kimberlite bulk sample processed at Lulo to date.
According to Lucapa Diamond Company, of the Type 11a diamonds discovered, five weigh more than one carat – with the largest weighing 1.95 carats – while the average weight of the remaining diamonds measures at 0.78 carats. Significant potential for more high-grade diamond discoveries is expected as processing continues.
“This preliminary result is important, in that it represents the best kimberlite diamond recoveries to date, confirms the existence of higher-grade primary sources with commercial size diamonds and bolsters our large geological database with confirmatory results for our teams to use to prioritise the other kimberlites and targets on the Lulo concession,” said Stephen Wetherall, Managing Director of Lucapa Diamond Company. “We are beginning to see the desired outcome of the methodical exploration approach in a significant diamond province, which has been accelerated by the recent commissioning of the dedicated bulk sample plant.”
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Earlier this year, Angola announced plans to become the second-largest producer of rough diamonds globally by 2030. Owing to market-driven regulatory reforms enabling investment in the sector, the country has accelerated its mining activities in 2022 and currently represents the fourth-largest diamond producer globally.
