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Drop in Large Diamonds Impacts Lucara Sales
May 3, 2017 3:50 AM
By Rapaport News
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RAPAPORT... Lucara Diamond Corp’s rough sales fell in the first quarter
as the miner shifted production to lower-grade stockpiles and recovered fewer
large diamonds.
Revenue slumped 48% to $26.1 million with the average selling price down 38% to $405 per carat, the company said Tuesday. The miner
reported a net loss of $1.5 million, having turned a profit of $17.1 million a
year earlier.
The revenue decline resulted from the lower volume of carats
sold, the miner explained. The company processed lower-grade ore from its
stockpiles at the Karowe project in Botswana during the quarter, a period in which it changed contractors working at the mine. In particular, sales of “special”
diamonds above 10.8 carats fell to 2,379 carats from 6,936 carats in the first
quarter of 2016, when the company benefited from a period of above-average recovery of such diamonds.
Lucara continued to forecast revenue between $200 million
and $220 million for 2017, excluding the potential sale of the 1,109-carat Lesedi
La Rona rough diamond.
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Tags:
Karowe, Karowe mine, large diamonds, lucara, Lucara Diamond Corp, mining, Rapaport News
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