Gaston International, a Dubai-based company specializing in mining and mineral investments, has just purchased Lucapa Diamond, the Australian miner that recently went into administration.
Terms were not disclosed at press time.
Dev Shetty (pictured), the Gemfields and Fura Gems veteran who heads Gaston as well as its parent Jemora Group, tells JCK he sees an opportunity to turn around the struggling Lucapa, which owns the Lulo mine in Angola, as well as the Merlin property in Australia’s Northwest Territories.
“Even in the current diamond environment, Lulo has always been shielded from the current turmoil, because of how small it is and how many specials [larger stones] it produces,” Shetty says. “I believe there will always be a strong market for top diamonds.”
He notes that since Lulo began production in 2015, it has yielded 48 Type IIa diamonds above 100 cts. He adds that only one of Lulo’s three processing plants is currently operating at full capacity.
“I believe if the resource is planned properly, we can take the mine to the next level,” says Shetty. “It just needs one extra push, and that’s where we come in.”
He also plans to conduct further tests at Merlin.
“We are going to look at the next phase of feasibility, which was stopped after the tariff regime came on,” he says. “Merlin still has a way to go as far as full-scale production.”
Shetty notes that Merlin may not just be rich in diamonds but it also might potentially yield lead, zinc, copper, and gold.
This is Gaston’s second recent acquisition. Earlier this month, it purchased the Chacarilla copper mine in La Paz, Bolivia. In March, the company’s new auction arm, Jemora Gemhouse, staged a sapphire sale in New York City.
Shetty was Gemfields’ chief operating officer and executive director from 2009 to 2017. After that, he founded Fura Gems and served as its CEO until last year.
(Photo courtesy of Jemora Group)