Lucapa Diamond Company (LOM) has announced a highly encouraging update on its search for the hard-rock source of the diamonds within the prolific Lulo diamond field in Angola.
The company reported that the follow-up analysis on a Yehuda colorimeter post acidising/ deep boiling of the Canguige tributary diamonds has confirmed the presence of rare Type IIa gems, along with a light fancy yellow.
Lulo project
Lulo is a 3,000km2 concession in Angola’s Lunda Norte diamond heartland, approximately 630km east of the Angolan capital of Luanda.
The exploration by Lucapa and its partners Endiama (Angola’s national diamond company) and Rosas & Petalas were successful in proving up one of the world’s most prolific alluvial diamond fields at Lulo, along with >100 kimberlite pipes.
Lucapa is the operator of both the alluvial mining and kimberlite exploration activities at Lulo.
Highest average sale price
The commercial diamond production had commenced in 2015 at Lulo through alluvial mining company Sociedade Mineira Do Lulo.
The Lulo alluvial mine and Mothae kimberlite mine both produce large and high-value diamonds, with >75% of revenues generated from the recovery of +4.8 carat stones.
Lulo has produced 14 +100 carat diamonds to date. The average US$ sales prices achieved for Lulo diamonds are among the highest of any alluvial mine in the world
Kimberlite exploration is conducted by the Lulo partners through the separate Projecto Lulo joint venture. This exploration is designed to locate the hard-rock sources of the exceptional Lulo alluvial diamonds.
Kimberlite mine
The new 1.1 Mtpa Mothae kimberlite mine in diamond-rich Lesotho commenced commercial mining operations in January 2019. It produced > 30,000 carats in its first year of production, including 10 +50 carat diamonds.
Lucapa and its Lulo partners continue to advance exploration programs which aim to identify the primary kimberlite sources of these exceptional alluvial gems.
Experienced board members
Lucapa’s Board and management team have decades of diamond industry experience across the globe with companies including De Beers and Gem Diamonds.
Drilling at Lulo
The company had commenced drilling to test five pipes in the Canguige catchment rated in a technical review as being among the most prospective to host diamonds within the Lulo kimberlite field.
45 diamonds recovered
The company had recently announced that the Project Lulo partners recovered 45 diamonds weighing 30.3 carats from a stream bulk sample taken from the Canguige tributary draining into the Cacuilo River valley, where Lucapa and its partners are recovering some of the world’s most valuable alluvial diamonds.
Follow-up analysis yields rare Type IIa gems
Lucapo has been in search for the hard-rock source of the diamonds within the prolific Lulo diamond field.
The company reported that the follow-up analysis on a Yehuda colorimeter post acidising/ deep boiling of the Canguige tributary diamonds has confirmed the presence of rare Type IIa gems, along with a light fancy yellow.
This is in addition to hosting a good white population – including top D-colour stones.
It may be noted that the Canguige tributary drains into the Cacuilo River valley ~3km upstream of alluvial Mining Block 46, which has produced multiple high-value Type IIa diamonds including Specials of up to 88 carats, along with fancy pink and yellow diamonds.
Next steps
The company reported that the Project Lulo partners plan to send the diamonds to Antwerp for more detailed analysis with specialized equipment.
Lucapa said that two priority anomalies in the Canguige catchment will also be drilled to confirm the presence of kimberlite.