Record-setting stone recovered at Mothae
Lucapa Diamond Company and the Government of Lesotho have announced the recovery of a 215 carat diamond from the Mothae kimberlite mine in Lesotho.
The 215 carat stone is the largest Type IIa D-colour white diamond, the second +200 carat diamond and the fifth +100 carat diamond recovered through the 1.1 Mtpa Mothae plant since commercial diamond mining operations began in 2019.
This 215 carat diamond follows the recovery of an exceptional 101 carat diamond in December 20201.
Lucapa and the GoL aim to further increase the frequency in recovery of these large and valuable diamonds, and this objective is the primary rationale for Lucapa’s additional foreign direct investment that will see diamond production increase at Mothae by the end of Q1 2021.
In addition, the implementation of the new marketing channel, whereby Mothae will now benefit from a significant share of the margins beyond the mine gate, will see Mothae benefit to a much greater extent from its niche production.
Lucapa MD Stephen Wetherall says:
“The continued recovery of large diamonds at Mothae validates the recent investment decision to expand capacity at the mine. Lucapa has now produced 23 +100 carat diamonds, four of which are greater than 200 carats (across the two mines) and we, together with the GoL as mine partner in Lesotho and Endiama and Rosas & Petalas as mine partners in Angola, look forward to many more such exceptional mining recoveries.”
