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Lucara begins 2021 with a 341 carat stunner

The hits keep on coming for Lucara at their Karowe mine in Botswana.

The Vancouver based company has kicked off the new year with a 341 carat top white gem quality diamond, recovered from the mine’s South Lobe over the holiday period.

Lucara CEO Eira Thomas:

Lucara is extremely pleased to be starting off 2021 with the recovery of a 341 carat high quality white gem diamond that builds on previous historic recoveries which include the 549 carat Sethunya, 998 carat, 1758 carat Sewelô, the 1109 carat Lesedi La Rona and the 342 carat Queen of the Kalahari. The 341 carat diamond represents the 54th diamond greater than 200 carats to be recovered from Karowe since 2015. The consistent recovery of these large diamonds is a testament to the continued strong resource and plant performance at Karowe and underpins our rationale for moving forward with the underground expansion program that will see mining continue for at least another 13 years after the open pit ceases operations in 2026. We look forward to a productive and busy 2021.

Photo credit: Facebook.com/LucaraDiamond

Karowe extended to 2046

That underground expansion program is underway and will facilitate continued mining at Karowe once the open-pit operation is exhausted. Botswana’s Minister of Mineral Resources, Green Technology and Energy Security recently approved Lucara’s license renewal and extension for a period of 25 years. With an estimated capital cost of $514 million and a five-year period of development, the first ore from that project will come to market in 2026.

You can read about this extension and expanded information about the diamond trade Botswana, and how it benefits the citizens of that country, in a recent GemBlog post 25 year extension for Lucara in Botswana.

Photo Credit: Lucara

A Feast of Delicious Diamonds

You may also enjoy images and video of several famous diamonds recovered by Lucara, as well as details of their journey to market, in our GemBlog post: A photo feast of four delicious diamonds.

Photo Credit: Graff

 

 

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