Lucapa recovers pink Lulo diamond

The 46-carat diamond is the largest gem-quality coloured rough diamond recovered to date from the Lulo mine.

It delivered three polished diamonds: a 15.2-carat heart and two pear shaped diamonds weighing 3.3 carats and 2.3 carats, respectively.

The 15.2-carat heart-shaped diamond was graded as fancy intense orangy pink, with the high clarity grade of VVS1 and excellent gradings for both polish and symmetry.

VVS1 stands for very, very slightly included category, where only a trained gemologist can see minor blemishes that would otherwise be invisible to the naked eye.

“Pink coloured diamonds are rare and constitute less than 0.1 per cent of global diamond production,” Lucapa chief executive Stephen Wetherall said.

“With the recent closure of the renowned Argyle underground mine in Australia, which produced (around) 90 per cent of the world’s natural pink diamonds, these diamonds are about to become even more scarce.

“This bodes well for the sale of the 15.2-carat polished pink diamond and other diamonds derived from this unique value accretive polishing partnership.”

Lucapa, which partners with Endiama and Rosas & Petalas at the Lulo diamond project, has inked a partnership agreement with Safdico International as its preferred buyer for the resultant diamonds.

Endiama chairman Ganga Junior said the diamonds constituted physical and visible evidence of the great potential of the Lulo mine.

“The quality and characteristics of the diamonds it has produced boosts our confidence in the future of the national diamond industry,” Junior said.

The Lulo mine is one of the highest average $US per carat alluvial diamond producers in the world.