Lucapa finds another large diamond at its Lulo mine in Angola

Australia’s Lucapa Diamond (ASX:LOM) and its partners Empresa Nacional de Diamantes (Endiama) and Rosas & Petalas have found a 129.58-carat diamond at Lulo mine in Angola.

The “exceptionally high-value” rock, said the company, is the eighth diamond of over 100 carats recovered this year, and the seventh in just 2.5 years of commercial mining from relatively low throughout rates.

The diamond was recovered from alluvial mining block six along with another large high-value diamond weighing 78.61 carat, the Perth-based firm said. Both of them have been confirmed to be Type IIa D-colour gems.

The recoveries, said Managing Director Stephen Wetherall, reinforce a strong operating performance from the Lulo mining operations during October this year, which will be the subject of an operational update shortly.

The Lulo diamond project is located 150km from Alrosa’s Catoca mine, the world’s fourth largest diamond operation. It hosts type-2a diamonds, which account for less than 1% of global supply.

The 78.61-carat Type IIa D-colour diamond found at Lulo. (Image courtesy of Lucapa Diamond.)

The project has so far bored massive gems, including the 404.2-carat white rock found early this year, which is considered the largest diamond ever recovered in Angola and the biggest ever found by an Australian company.

Angola is the world’s No.4 diamond producer by value and No.6 by volume. Its industry, which began a century ago under Portuguese colonial rule, is successfully emerging from a long period of difficulty as a result of a civil war that ended in 2002.

The 129.58-carat Type IIa D-colour diamond from Mining Block 6 at Lulo. (Image courtesy of Lucapa Diamond.)

Last year, the government reduced taxes and cut state ownership requirements to rekindle the industry after the global financial crisis forced mines to close.