DIAMOND MINING: Lucara unearths rare blue diamond at Karowe

BOTSWANA – Lucara Diamond Corp. of Vancouver has recovered a rare 9.46-ct Type II blue diamond from its wholly owned Karowe mine. The diamond is the first of its kind to be identified at Karowe.

Diamond production at Karowe is to be 270,000 ct in 2012 and approximately 400,000 ct/y thereafter. The mine has a life of at least 15 years based on a probable reserve from surface to a depth of 324 metres of 36.2 million tonnes containing 6.3 million ct. As much as 10% of the gems are Type IIa diamonds. The mine also as an indicated resource to 400 metres of 51 million tonnes containing 8.2 million ct and an inferred resource from 400 to 750 metres of 21 million tonnes containing 4.0 million ct.

William Lamb, Lucara's president and CEO said, "The recovery of such a rare stone is of great importance to the Karowe asset. We had previously identified a population of Type II diamonds at Karowe and the recovery of this rare blue diamond confirms the quality distribution of the diamonds being mined at Karowe."

See LucaraDiamond.com for more information.