Image: Lucapa Diamond Company.
Lucapa Diamond Company has hit new monthly and daily alluvial diamond recovery records at the Lulo project in Angola, Africa.
During July 2020, Lucapa hit a new monthly carat record of 3462 carats recovered, which was almost immediately followed by a daily carat record of 463 carats at the beginning of August.
This surpassed Lucapa’s former daily carat record set in February 2016, from the “4th February Stone” diamond, which was Angola’s largest recorded diamond weighing in at 404 carats.
The record-breaking gem was recovered from the Mining Block 06 flood plain area, where Lucapa has been focussing the bulk of its exploration and mining activities since June.
The company has reported high grades, thick gravels and large diamond recoveries from this zone, representing what the company has called “a potential major source of additional resource and alluvial mine life”.
Currently, only a small percentage of the flood plain area in this zone, which follows the Cacuilo river are included in Lulo’s joint ore reserves committee inferred resource of 100,000-plus carats and average diamond value of $US1620 ($2248) per carat.
Lucapa has also been excavating bulk samples of kimberlite material for processing and has already completed the delivery of two L071 bulk samples.
This week, the company will complete the second bulk sample, which has more than 4000 tonnes of kimberlite material to be independently processed.
Lucapa will keep the market updated on any further updates regarding the treatment of new kimberlite samples.