404 carat diamond recovered at Lulo, Angola

Lucapa Diamond Company Limited, Endiama E.P, Angola’s national diamond company, and private local partner Rosas & Pétalas announced the recovery of a spectacular 404.2 carat diamond from the Lulo Diamond Project in Angola’s Lunda Norte province. Testing on a Yehuda diamond colorimeter has confirmed the 404.2 carat diamond to be a Type IIa D-colour gem.

The 404.2 carat Lulo gem is: The biggest recorded diamond ever found in Angola - one of the world’s top four diamond producing nations; The 27th biggest recorded diamond in the world; The biggest diamond discovered by an Australian company; The fourth 100+ carat diamond recovered from Lulo to date; The 114th large special diamond (>10.8 carats) recovered from Lulo to date.

The 404.2 carat diamond was recovered from alluvial Mining Block 8 at Lulo, which has already produced more than 60 large special diamonds since mining commenced in this area in August 2015. The previous largest diamond recovered at Lulo weighed 133.4 carats.

The Lulo project is a partnership with Endiama and Rosas & Pétalas. Lucapa is the operator of the Lulo project and has a 40% interest in the alluvial diamond mining operations. Endiama has a 32% interest while Rosas & Pétalas holds 28%. Alluvial mining operations commenced at Lulo in 2015 following the awarding of a mining licence in November 2014.

Lulo is located within 150km of Alrosa-operated Catoca, which is the world’s fourth biggest diamond mine and accounts for about 75 per cent of Angola’s annual diamond production. The previous record for Angola’s largest diamond belonged to a diamond known as the “Angolan Star” – a 217.4 carat gem recovered from the Luarica mine in 2007.

Endiama Chairman Eng. Antonio Carlos Sumbula said the recovery of the 404.2 carat diamond represented another significant milestone in the growth and development of the Angolan diamond mining industry. “We are delighted to have recovered the biggest diamond ever found in Angola – it is a significant day for our country, our diamond industry and for the Lulo Diamond Project,” reiterated Carlos Sumbula. “The Lulo diamond field is an example of what we would like to showcase to the world to encourage international investment in Angola’s diamond mining industry”, added the Chairman of Endiama.

Lucapa Diamond Company Ltd Chief Executive Stephen Wetherall said Lucapa and its Lulo partners Endiama and Rosas & Pétalas were extremely proud to have recovered such an exceptional world-class diamond. “We have always emphasised the very special nature of the Lulo diamond field and this recovery – together with the other 100 carat-plus diamonds recovered this year alone - is further evidence of that.” “And while we continue mining these exceptional alluvial gems from Mining Blocks 6 and 8 at Lulo, we are also continuing to advance our systematic exploration program to find the kimberlite source of these diamonds.”

Rosas & Pétalas Chairman Dr. Celso Rosas said he was proud of the magnificent results achieved at Lulo since the commencement of mining in 2015.