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RAPAPORT... Lucapa Diamond Company Ltd. confirmed that its Se251 kimberlite at the Lulo diamond concession in Angola is a diamond-bearing pipe after the explorer recovered four diamonds in preliminary surface sampling. Lucapa determined that the four rough diamonds were of good shape and color, the largest of which weighed 1.05 carats and three weighed a total of 1.75 carats. The Se251 pipe is in the same region where Lucapa has recovered large, type IIa alluvial diamonds of up to 131.40 carats.
With a surface area of approximately 220 hectares, Se251 is the largest kimberlite pipe identified by Lucapa within the Lulo diamond concession. Lulo is located approximately 150 kilometers from the Catoca diamond mine, which is the fourth largest kimberlite diamond mine in the world. Se251 has been considered a priority exploration target for Lucapa since the company's geological team identified it as a likely source of large alluvial diamonds. Lucapa has already sold 867.50 carats of alluvial diamonds that were recovered from the exploration phase at Lulo for about $6,502 per carat. Miles Kennedy, the company's managing director, said that he was delighted that Lucapa had recovered kimberlite diamonds within the first two weeks of kimberlite sample being processed through the company's new dense media separation (DMS) diamond plant at Lulo.
"I regard the recovery of these diamonds from Se251 as extremely significant because it establishes beyond doubt that this huge pipe, covering some 220 hectares (over 500 acres), is indeed diamondiferous," said Kennedy. "It has taken Lucapa six years to get to this point, which is only the beginning of the road ahead. As our Lulo site manager, Wessell Horak, wrote in his report 'Yes, it seems by grace and persistence, our fortunes have changed as these are the first undisputed kimberlite diamonds we have recovered'." "This kimberlite pipe will undoubtedly contain many different eruptive phases and, like all big pipes, the diamond grade between these phases will vary," Kennedy added. "Se251 is, of course, only one of eight pipes Lucapa has identified proximal to where we have been recovering magnificent alluvial diamonds, and we will move on to conduct preliminary sampling of Se257 and the remaining pipes in this area to see what results emerge."
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