Lucara Diamond Corp. has unearthed two large diamonds from its Karowe mine in Botswana, one pink and one white.
Earlier this month, the miner found a 1,019.85-carat, non-gem-quality white diamond using its Mega Diamond Recovery unit, which enables it to locate and extract large stones without breakage, it said last week. That rough is the ninth over 1,000 carats from Karowe, and the third of that magnitude it has retrieved this year. Lucara also brought up a near-gem-quality, 37.42-carat, pink, type IIa diamond.
The company recovered both stones from its EM/PK(S) area, known for producing large, high-value rough. It is also the portion of the site the miner is now targeting for underground mining.
Meanwhile, Lucara has drawn down $10 million of its $63 million standby loan from Nemesia, its largest shareholder, to address a “funding shortfall” in its underground project, it explained. For each $500,000 draw, Lucara will issue 7,500 common shares per month to Nemesia until it repays the amount borrowed.
“The decision to draw $10 million from the standby undertaking…represents a prudent approach to maintaining our financial flexibility during the current period of ongoing underground project expenditures,” added Lucara CEO William Lamb.
Image: The near-gem pink diamond. (Lucara Diamond Corp.)