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Lucapa Sales Slump with Fewer Big Diamonds
Jan 31, 2018 7:03 AM
By Rapaport News
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RAPAPORT... Lucapa Diamond Company’s sales fell 38% in 2017, after the
previous year’s figures received a boost from the sale of a huge rough stone.
Proceeds from diamonds the company extracted at its Lulo
mine in Angola declined to $31.6 million last year, the miner reported Monday.
While the 2016 total of $51 million included $16 million from a 404-carat rough,
last year’s sales dropped even discounting that amount. The overall average
price slid 44% to $1,669 per carat.
Production declined 6% to 18,706 carats, with the company recovering
238 special-size stones — those above 10.8 carats — compared with 269 the
previous year. Out of six diamonds above 50 carats that it found during 2017, the
largest two were type-IIa, D-color diamonds weighing 129 carats and 78 carats.
The company plans to sell those two stones in early 2018,
hoping to maximize proceeds due to the stronger demand during that period
as manufacturers look to replenish their stocks.
Aside from Lulo, Lucapa intends to start commercial production
at its Mothae mine in Lesotho in the second half of 2018, and is carrying
out exploration at the Brooking lamproite project in Western Australia.
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Tags:
Brooking lamproite, diamonds, Lesotho, lucapa, Lucapa Diamond Company, Lulo mine, miner, Mothae Mine, Rapaport News
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