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Lucara Extends Large-Stone Supply Agreement
Apr 7, 2021 5:56 AM
By Rapaport News
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RAPAPORT... Lucara Diamond Corp. has added an extra two years to its supply deal with HB Antwerp, enabling it to continue selling all its rough above 10.8 carats to the Belgium-based manufacturer.
“Lucara is beginning to see the benefits of this strategy in accessing a broader marketplace and delivering regular cash flow based on final polished sales,” Lucara CEO Eira Thomas said Wednesday. “We believe these early results warrant an extension of the arrangement for at least 24 months to determine if superior pricing and market stability for our large, high-value diamonds can be sustained longer term.”
The miner initiated a supply agreement with HB for large stones from its Karowe mine in Botswana in July 2020, after pausing its tenders shortly after the Covid-19 pandemic began. The deal enables Lucara to sell the rough to HB at a price based on an estimate of the polished outcome, which the companies determine using diamond scanning and planning technology. Once HB sells the goods, it adjusts the price that Lucara receives based on the actual selling price of the polished, minus a fee and manufacturing costs.
The extended supply deal will follow the same payment terms as the initial agreement, and will be in effect through December 2022.
The agreement also provides increased tax revenue and beneficiation opportunities for the government of Botswana, and creates a streamlined supply chain for Karowe’s rough, Lucara explained.
“More than a supply agreement, this collaboration structurally embeds a new transparent and sustainable way of working in the diamond-value chain,” said HB CEO Oded Mansori. “For the first time, different partners of the value chain are fully aligned, sharing data and information throughout the process from mine to consumer.”
Image: A 378-carat rough diamond from Karowe. (HB Antwerp)
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Tags:
Botswana, Eira Thomas, HB Group, Karowe, Karowe mine, lucara, Lucara Diamond Corp., Oded Mansori, Rapaport News
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