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Lucara's Karowe Tender Nets $13M
Sep 11, 2012 4:54 AM
By Deena Taylor
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RAPAPORT... Lucara Diamond Corp.'s third sale of Karowe rough diamonds fetched $13.4 million; all 48 lots offered sold to bidders, including 741 carats withheld from the previous sale in July. The company sold 52,231 carats of diamonds for an average price of $257 per carat this week, compared with $176 per carat achieved at the July tender.
A 16.44-carat diamond sold for $28,010 per carat, or $460,484 in total, representing the highest value stone. Lucara held presale viewing for the rough stones in Gaborone and Antwerp at the offices of Bonas-Couzyn. Lucara noted that the large size of the diamond parcels sold is the result of a seven week operating period since the close of the previous tender, whereas usually there is only five weeks in the company's sales cycle.
"We are pleased with the results of the third sale of Karowe diamonds. The excellent value obtained confirms the high-quality of the Karowe production," said Lucara's president, William Lamb. "This is especially significant in the current depressed state of the rough diamond market."
Lamb reported that Karowe's processing plant achieved full capacity during August, exceeding the company's forecast. Other infrastructure projects previously reported remain on track.
The company expects production at Karowe to meet or exceed its forecast for 2012. Lucara stated that it intends to hold fewer sales of larger quantities of diamonds to ensure consistency of sale parcels for the rest of the year. The company has scheduled two more sales, with the next Karowe sale taking place in November.
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Tags:
Deena Taylor, Karowe, Lucara Diamond Corp., Lucara Diamonds
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