Lucapa Diamond Company announced that it sold diamonds from the Mothae kimberlite mine in Lesotho into a cutting & polishing partnership with a high-end diamantaire. The deal was finalised even as the company was unable to market its diamonds through its regular tender channel in Belgium due to the lockdown and travel restrictions.

The company said that the agreement is for 3,963 carats of Mothae diamonds. It will receive US$2.0m or US$505 per carat as rough price upfront. Subsequently, following accounting for the procurement and diamond manufacturing costs, additional margins generated from the later sale of the diamonds beyond the mine gate will be shared equally between Mothae and the partner.

Lucapa Managing Director Stephen Wetherall said, “Despite the current macroeconomic uncertainty brough about by COVID-19 hindering the marketing of diamonds and prices generally, it was pleasing to still see some demand for the higher-quality Mothae-type production.”

He added, “The sale of diamonds into the cutting & polishing partnership in this environment provides Mothae with a level of price protection in that Mothae should receive additional margins from the onward sale of these diamonds.”

Pic caption: A 64-ct top-colour diamond that was one of the stones sold into the cutting & polishing partnership

Pic courtesy: Lucapa Diamond Co Ltd