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RAPAPORT... Lucara Diamond Corp. anticipates revenue of between $230 million and $240 million from the sale of 400,000 to 420,000 carats of rough diamonds in 2015, according to the company's outlook. Lucara recorded revenue of $180.5 million in 2013, and for the first nine months of 2014, sales have risen 60 percent year on year to $195 million.
The junior miner expects that building and commissioning Karowe's plant optimization project will be completed in the second quarter of 2015 at a total cost of $55 million; however, with most of the work already completed, Lucara has spent $40 million of that amount this year. Lucara stated that exploration costs in 2015 for two prospecting licenses will be between $7 million and $8 million. William Lamb, Lucara's CEO, said, "Lucara had a successful year in 2014, generating strong cash flow through the achievement of its production targets at lower than forecast operating costs and from significant revenue generated from the sale of its large and exceptional diamonds during the year. "Following the completion of the plant optimization project, Karowe will focus extensively on processing material from the south lobe. It will be an exciting second half of 2015 based on the south lobe diamonds, which have historically achieved stronger diamond valuations at our tenders and have contained a high population of specials (10.80-carat-plus sizes).
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