Lucapa recovers a 68.1 carat diamond at Lulo

A 68.1 carat Type II-A D-colour gem is one of the latest recoveries by Lucapa Diamond Company at its Lulo mine, reports say. The diamond was recovered during trial mining operations at the mine’s new area - E46, as per reports.

The company and its partners have identified four areas at Lulo across 20 km, of which E46 is one of them.

At E46, Lucapa further recovered seven other diamonds of 30.5 carats, 25.3 carats, 14.8 carats, 13.8 carats, 12.9 carats, 12.3 carats and 11.5 carats. These stones include stones of gem quality and boart diamonds.

Of the eight diamonds recovered at E46, the 68.1 carat stone is the largest, as per reports. Previous to this, the largest stone recovered from E46 during bulk sampling in 2013 was 6.9 carats. The company noted that the recent finds were significant.

Lucapa Chief Executive Stephen Wetherall mentioned that, “The potential of the E46 alluvial terraces was highlighted in the initial bulk sampling and maiden JORC diamond resource published in December 2015. The E46 alluvial terraces are the fourth mining block at Lulo to produce special gem-quality diamonds, as per reports.