Lucara Diamond

Canadian mining company

Lucara Diamond Corp.

Company type| Public company

Traded as

| TSX: LUC
Industry| Mining
Founded| 2009; 16 years ago (2009)
Headquarters| Suite 2000 885 West Georgia Street,

Vancouver, BC

Canada

Key people

| Lukas Lundin (Chairman)
William Lamb (President and CEO)
Products| Diamonds
Revenue| $265 million (2014)[needs update]

Operating income

| $191 million (2014)

Net income

| $45 million (2014)
Total assets| $317 million (2014)
Total equity| $228 million (2014)
Parent| Lundin Group of Companies
Website| www.lucaradiamond.com
Footnotes / references
[1]

Lucara Diamond Corp. is a diamond exploration and mining company, founded in 2009 by two Canadian mining executives, Eira Thomas, Catherine McLeod-Seltzer, and Swedish-Canadian mining billionaire Lukas Lundin,[2] operating in Southern Africa[3][4] but established in Canada.[5] In August 2024, the world's second largest gem-quality diamond ever found, was found at the Karowe mine in Botswana.

## Operations

[edit]

Diamond mines and kimberlite fields in Botswana

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.[6] The mine has an estimated US$2.2 billion of diamonds.[7] AK6 is in the Orapa/Letlhakane district.[8]

Other operations include the Mothae diamond project in Lesotho, where kimberlite processing began in June 2010,[9] and where a 53.5 carat diamond has already been discovered;[10] the Kavango project in Namibia;[11] and planned mines and applications for mining licenses in Zimbabwe, Cameroon, and Botswana.[12]

## Noted stones

[edit]

On 18 November 2015, the company announced the discovery of the Lesedi La Rona. At the time of discovery, it was the world's second largest gem-quality diamond ever (second only to the 3,106 carat Cullinan).[13] The type IIa diamond[14] 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.[15] All the stones came from the AK6 pipe opened 18 months earlier, it has since yielded over 1 million carats of diamonds.[16] The company has sold the 813 carat Constellation in May 2016 for $63.1 million [17] and a 341.9 carat diamond in July 2015 for $20.6 million.[18] The Lesedi has since sold for $53 million.[19]

The Lesedi was later surpassed as the world's second largest diamond by a 2,492-carat piece that was also discovered at the Karowe mine in August 2024.[20]

## Company structure

[edit]

Chairman of the board from 2010 to 2022 was Lukas Lundin, son of Adolf H. Lundin the founder of Lundin Mining and Lundin Petroleum. The president and CEO of Lucara is Eira Thomas.[21][22] As of January 2020 over half of the company's executives, in Botswana and around the world, were women.[2]

In March 2011, Lucara was reported to be discussing a merger with Gem Diamonds.[23]

After the discovery of the Lesedi La Rona, the company's shares increased by 28%.[24]

## See also

[edit]

* List of largest rough diamonds

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "MD&A and Consolidated Financial Statements - 2014" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2015-11-20. Retrieved 2015-11-20.
2. ^ a b Caesar, Ed (27 January 2020). "The Woman Shaking Up the Diamond Industry". The New Yorker. Retrieved 2020-02-02.
3. ^ "Lucara" (PDF). 2010-10-16. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-03-03. Retrieved 2010-10-31.
4. ^ "Lucara Diamond Corp. (LUC) – Financial and Strategic Analysis Review – a new market research". Retrieved 2010-10-31.
5. ^ "Lucara Diamond Corp. - Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada". 2010-08-22. Archived from the original on 2012-09-05. Retrieved 2010-10-31.
6. ^ "Lucara agrees to buy African Diamonds for C$82 mln". Reuters. 4 October 2010. Retrieved 15 October 2023.
7. ^ "African Diamonds partner Lucara Diamond ups in situ value of AK6 to at least $2.2 billion – Proactiveinvestors (UK)". 28 June 2010. Retrieved 2010-10-31.
8. ^ "Lucara to Acquire 100% of AK6 Diamond Project in Botswana". Market Wire. 2010. Retrieved 2010-10-31.
9. ^ "Diamonds.net News – Lucara Begins Production at Lesotho Diamond Mine". Retrieved 2010-10-31.
10. ^ "Lucara Recovers 53.5 Carat Diamond at Mothae Mine, Lesotho". Retrieved 2010-10-31.
11. ^ "Namibia – Kavango Project". Archived from the original on 2010-02-13. Retrieved 2010-10-31.
12. ^ "Mining Journal – Lucara bids for African Diamonds". Archived from the original on 2010-10-17. Retrieved 2010-10-31.
13. ^ "Second largest gem quality diamond ever found recovered in Botswana". www.telegraph.co.uk. The Telegraph. 19 November 2015. Retrieved 19 November 2015.
14. ^ News release. "Lucara makes diamond history recovers 1,111 carat diamond" (PDF). www.lucaradiamond.com. Lucara Diamond. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 November 2015. Retrieved 20 November 2015.
15. ^ "News". www.lucaradiamond.com. Archived from the original on 2015-11-19. Retrieved 20 November 2015.
16. ^ Cornish, Laura (27 May 2015). "Lucara Diamonds looks for buyers for 342 carat in July exceptional stone tender". www.miningreview.com. Spintelligent (Pty) Ltd. Retrieved 20 November 2015.
17. ^ "Lucara sells giant 813-carat Constellation diamond for record $63M US". www.cbc.ca/news. CBC News. Retrieved 9 May 2016.
18. ^ Crowley, Kebin; Biesheuvelpattern dots, Thomas (19 November 2015). "Biggest Diamond in More Than a Century Unearthed in Botswana". www.bloomberg.com. Bloomberg Businessweek. Retrieved 20 November 2015.
19. ^ Zimnisky, Paul (3 October 2017). "Discovery of newsworthy diamonds picks up". www.mining.com. Mining.com. Retrieved 5 October 2017.
20. ^ "World's second-largest diamond found in Botswana". BBC. 22 August 2024. Retrieved 22 August 2024.
21. ^ "People: Lucara Diamond Corp". Reuters. Retrieved 20 November 2015.
22. ^ "Lucara Diamond - Management". Lucara Diamond Corp. Retrieved 20 November 2015.
23. ^ "Gem Diamonds in talks with Lucara". Mining Journal. Archived from the original on 2012-03-18. Retrieved 2011-03-27.
24. ^ MacDonald, Alex (19 November 2015). "World's Second-Largest Diamond Discovered in Botswana". www.wsj.com. Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 20 November 2015.