image: Lucapa Diamond Company
Lucapa Diamond Company sold $16.7 million worth of rough stones from its Lulo mine at the first diamond tender under Angola’s new sales rules.
“The exceptional sale prices achieved for the Lulo diamonds reflected the highly competitive bidding from leading international diamantaires and large-stone manufacturers from eight countries that participated in the tender,” the company said Friday.
The miner sold seven special-size stones through an electronic tender in Luanda organized by state-owned diamond-marketing company Sodiam. Six white stones weighing 114.94, 85.24, 75.62, 70.08, 62.05 and 43.25 carats, and a 46.77-carat pink, fetched a combined average price of $33,530 per carat at the sale, which took place January 30 to 31. Lucapa has been withholding the stones from sale throughout the year to sell them under the reformed rules, which were designed to improve transparency and pricing.
Under the previous regulations, miners were required to sell their diamonds to a list of buyers Sodiam selected, limiting competition for the stones and causing pricing to fall below market levels. The new system allows companies to offer 60% of their production to clients of their choice.
Lucapa has now sold $141 million worth of rough Lulo diamonds since it began commercial operations in 2015, at an average price of $2,105 per carat.
The company’s share price rose 8% Friday following the announcement.
