17 Jun 2021

Strong performance and recovery of large diamonds reinforces the significance of high value ore as an important economic driver for the proposed underground mine at Karowe, Lucara Botswana  general manager, Mr Johane Mchive has said.

Speaking during an interview with BOPA, following the recent recovery of a 470-carat diamond, Mr Mchive said underground mining would see Lucara Botswana almost doubling mine life from 2026 to 2041.

He said high value ore, termed as EM/PK’s, was found to be increasing as investigations on underground mining were being done.

The underground project, he said, will have a huge impact on the local economy, given that it was budgeted at US$514 million in pre-production capital.

He noted that underground mine, once running, would ensure continued employment for Batswana and continued fiscal contribution to the government in the form of taxes and royalties.

Mr Mchive stated that Lucara prides itself in hiring Batswana, saying that localisation was presently set at 98 per cent, while the company had contributed to the economy through payment of taxes and royalties of up to 55 per cent of taxable income.

He stated that the recently discovered 470-carat diamond  was a top light brown clivage and a rare size of diamond, which had created a lot of excitement, adding, however, that the stone had not been monetised yet as it was still undergoing analysis.

The diamond was discovered through a highly successful XRT technology, which provided a single-stage alternative to traditional concentration and discovery techniques used in the diamond mining industry and maximised overall processing efficiency, Mr Mchive said.

He noted that the technology was particularly effective in preventing breakage of diamonds during processing operations, as it minimised the exposure of diamond bearing ore to comminution processes, which could result in diamonds being damaged.

Mr Mchive stated that the 470-carat stone was the seventh biggest recovered from Karowe Mine, adding that Sewelo remained the record biggest diamond discovered from a processing plant at 1 758 carats, followed by Lesedi La Rona at 1 109 carats, which was the fourth largest diamond ever found, and third largest of gem quality.

He said the 549-carat white diamond called Sethunya, which was discovered unbroken from direct milling ore sourced from the EM/PK unit of the south lobe in February 2020, and Sewelo had not been sold. ENDS