from Lulo mine, AngolaPicture : Lucapa
Lucapa reported Q3 rough sales of $14.6m, down 43 per cent year-on-year, and down 33 per cent on the previous quarter.
The ASX-listed miner said it held fewer sales than usual during the quarter, and that some high value stones from Lulo, in Angola, were being held over for Q4.
But it said premium goods, both from Lulo and from Mothae, in Lesotho, were still commanding high prices.
Lucapa, based in Perth, western Australia, sold a total of 15,493 carats during Q3, down 24 per cent on Q3 2022, at an average price of $944, a drop of 25 per cent.
Despite a poor quarter, sales for the year to date actually rose slightly, up two per cent to $61.4m, and the average price per carat YTD has increased 14 per cent to $1,391.
Lucapa’s mine’s produce some of the world’s highest per-carat value diamonds. Mothae’s command the second highest dollar per carat for kimberlite diamonds, after nearby Letseng.
And Lulo, an alluvial mine in the diamond heartland of Lunda Norte, regularly produces large, premium Type IIa diamonds. In July Lucapa recovered its 37th +100-ct diamond since commercial production began there in 2015.
Lucapa’s October tender, took place post-Q3, featuring seven exceptional diamonds totalling 535 carats. They sold for $15.7m, averaging $29,401 per carat.
Nick Selby, managing director at Lucapa said: “Mothae continues to perform strongly and had a very positive quarter.
“At Lulo, carat recovery and revenue were down for Q3 mainly due to lower grades being mined and high value stones being held over for the Q4 tender which has resulted in a timing issue for the flow of funds.
“However, as the recent tender results confirmed, large, high-quality diamonds such as those produced at Lulo and Mothae are still attracting strong prices and are in high demand compared to the smaller goods used by mainstream jewellers.”
Production at Lulo was halted for two weeks during Q3, due to an illegal work stoppage, which was resolved with a new union agreement.
Volumes mined and processed there were up slightly during the quarter, but total carats recovered were down 42 per cent to 7,578, and the number of specials (+10.8-cts) was down 60 per cent to 62.
Mothae fared much better, with a 24 per cent increase in tonnes processed, and a 19 per cent increase in carats recovered, at 9,010. It recovered 55 specials, up 77 per cent year-on-year.
In its appraisal of the rough market, Lucapa said that large, high-quality and exceptional diamonds were feeling less price pressure than smaller goods.
It also noted that WD Lab Grown Diamonds, the second largest producer of man-made diamonds in the US, had filed for bankruptcy as lab grown prices plummet.
Full year guidance (FY 2023) for both mines remains unchanged: At Lulo 31,000 carats at an average $2,300 per carat. At Mothae 29,500 carats at $1,000 per carat.
