Lucara Diamond
Lucara Diamond Corp. (TSX: LUC) is a diamond exploration and mining company, operating in southern Africa but established in Canada. In November 2015, Lesedi La Rona, the world's second largest gem-quality diamond ever found, was found in one of the company's mines in Botswana.
Operations
Lucara owned a 40% share of the AK6 kimberlite project (now the Karowe mine) in Botswana. In October 2010, Lucara bought African Diamonds, giving it a 100% share in the mine. The mine has an estimated $2.2Bn of diamonds. AK6 is in the Orapa/Letlhakane district.
Mothae diamond project in Lesotho: Kimberlite processing began in June 2010; a 53.5 carat diamond has already been discovered.
Kavango project in Namibia
Planned mines, and applications for mining licenses, in Zimbabwe, Cameroon, and Botswana.
Noted stones
On 18 November 2015, the company announced the discovery of the Lesedi La Rona, the world's second largest gem-quality diamond ever (second only to the 3,106 carat Cullinan). The type IIa diamond was found in the company's Karowe mine in north-central Botswana. The diamond weighs 1,111 carat and measures 65 by 56 by 40 mm (2.6 by 2.2 by 1.6 in). A day later, two more diamonds weighing 813 and 374 carat, were also found. All the stones came from the AK6 pipe opened 18 months earlier, it has since yielded over 1 million carats of diamonds. The company has previously found the 603 carat Lesotho Promise and a 341.9 carat diamond, the latter was sold in July 2015 for $20.6 million.
