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Lucara Invests to Improve Small Diamond Recovery
Aug 24, 2016 4:04 AM
By Rapaport News
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RAPAPORT... Lucara Diamond Corp. will increase the use of X-ray
technology (XRT) to target smaller size diamonds, after using
the equipment to successfully recover exceptional stones such as the 1,109-carat Lesedi La
Rona.
The company will introduce four new XRT diamond-recovery
units at its Karowe mine in Botswana, focusing on diamonds ranging from 4
millimeters to 8 millimeters. The technology will help process the “very dense,
high-quality” ore from the mine’s south lobe, Lucara said. The project is
expected to be completed in the fourth quarter of next year at an estimated
cost of up to $30 million.
Lucara’s discovery
of the Lesedi La Rona last November, as well as other exceptionally large stones,
was aided
by ‘large diamond recovery’ XRT machines that cost $55 million. The
investment has already paid for itself as it enabled the discovery of the
Lesedi La Rona, which is still unsold, and the 813-carat ‘Constellation,’ which
fetched
$63.1 million in May.
The latest move maximizes Lucara’s processing efficiency and
will contribute to “strong” operating margins for diamonds from the south lobe,
said William Lamb, the miner’s president and chief executive officer (pictured). The new
sorters will also improve production rates, Lamb added.
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Tags:
Botswana, Karowe, Lesedi La Rona, lucara, Lucara Diamond Corp, mining, Rapaport News, X-ray technology, XRT
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