Image: Lucapa Diamond Company

Diamond amount in the Lulo alluvial mine of Lucapa Diamond Company in Lesotho 90% higher than originally estimated, according to an independent valuation.

Lulo still has 80,400 carats left in the mine, according to a December 2018 survey by external consulting firm Z Star Mineral Resource Consultants. That figure was re-evaluated in comparison to a previous estimate, carried out in May 2017, which stated a total content for the mine of 42,200 carats.

Z Star has also updated the average rough price for Lulo to $ 1,420 per carat, an improvement of 17% over the previous estimate of $ 1,215 per carat.

This near-doubling supports the plans of the Lulo partners to increase alluvial production in 2019,” said Luca’s CEO Stephen Wetherall.