PROCESSING

Mothae in flight

Lucapa Diamond, on a growth plan to increase its foothold in the diamond mining sector, has secured the first diamonds recovered from its new commercial plant at the Mothae operation in Lesotho

 Lucapa owns 70% of Mothae, while the Kingdom of Lesotho holds the 30% ownership balance

Lucapa owns 70% of Mothae, while the Kingdom of Lesotho holds the 30% ownership balance

The miner, which has been making strides in its mission to be a multiple-mine producer, said the facility is already working to ramp up to Mothae's nameplate capacity of 1.1 million tonnes annually.

Lucapa's Mothae plant includes the technology of two XRT diamond recovery modules, which have been designed to recover large, rare Type IIa diamonds ahead of the secondary crushing circuit.

This will reduce potential diamond breakage, the miner said, and improve recovery of unbroken large stones.

Mothae's production will pair well with that from its Lulo mine in Angola, where Lucapa is 40% owner and operator, a mine which produces the highest average per carat (in US$) alluvial diamond production. Lucapa owns 70% of Mothae, while the Kingdom of Lesotho (GoL) holds the 30% ownership balance.

"Lucapa is on track to become one of a few listed diamond companies globally with production from more than one operating mine. The high-quality nature of this production from Lulo and Mothae will also enable the group to further its value-enhancing downstream strategy through partnerships with global diamantaires, where discussions are well advanced," managing director Stephen Wetherall said.

A growing series of reports, each focused on a key discussion point for the mining sector, brought to you by the Mining Magazine Intelligence team.

A growing series of reports, each focused on a key discussion point for the mining sector, brought to you by the Mining Magazine Intelligence team.

editions

Mining Magazine Intelligence Future Fleets Report 2024

The report paints a picture of the equipment landscape and includes detailed profiles of mines that are employing these fleets

editions

Mining Magazine Intelligence Digitalisation Report 2023

An in-depth review of operations that use digitalisation technology to drive improvements across all areas of mining production

editions

Mining Magazine Intelligence Automation Report 2023

An in-depth review of operations using autonomous solutions in every region and sector, including analysis of the factors driving investment decisions

editions

Mining Magazine Intelligence Exploration Report 2023 (feat. Opaxe data)

A comprehensive review of current exploration rates, trending exploration technologies, a ranking of top drill intercepts and a catalog of 2022 Initial Resource Estimates and recent discovery successes.