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Lucara Forecasts $200-220M Sales for 2016, Declares New Dividend Policy
Dec 3, 2015 11:48 AM
By Rapaport News
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RAPAPORT... Canadian
miner Lucara Diamond Corp., which last month recovered the second-largest diamond in history and the biggest found anywhere in the world
since 1905, guided toward a revenue range of $200
million to $220 million from its Karowe mine next year. The company also
unveiled a new dividend policy.
The
operating guidance excluded revenue from the sale of exceptionally high-value stones
such as the 1,111-carat gem it unearthed last month, the company said in a
statement December 2. The Company expects to declare an annual
dividend of $0.04 (CAD 0.06) per share in 2016 to be paid in four equal payments
at the end of each financial quarter.
Although Lucara has
recovered exceptionally high-value stones from the Karowe mine and is focused
on the high-value south lobe, it cannot predict when such diamonds will be
recovered and sold. It therefore considers sales from such stones as additional
revenue to its baseline forecast. It will unveil a dividend policy that aims to
maintain or increase the payout each year on a quarterly basis.
“This baseline revenue is
supported by Karowe's consistent recovery and yearly sales of its current
diamond profile, including specials – 10.8 carats or larger – and its
exceptional diamonds,” the Vancouver-based group said in the statement.
Last month, Lucara announced the discovery of two exceptional
stones from Karowe, weighing 813 and 374 carats. It has invested $15 million to
$18 million into a new large-diamond recovery process as the existing infrastructure
is designed to recover diamonds that weigh up to 1,000 carats.
The
company has also allocated $7 million to advance bulk sampling and drilling at
two licenses at Karowe to recover exceptionally large gems. It has budgeted $3.7
million for deep drilling on the AK6 kimberlite and the south lobe.
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Tags:
Botswana, Karowe, Lucara Diamond Corp., mining, Rapaport News
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