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.