- Revenue up 84% to US$230.1m
- Record 2.8m tonnes of ore processed at Karowe
- US$56.5m generated from the sale of Karowe diamonds in Q4 last year
- Diamond market currently at its strongest
Reporting financial results for the quarter year ended 31 December 2021, President and CEO of the company, Eira Thomas, said 2021 was a pivotal year for Lucara, having de-risked their future growth strategy with the sanction of the fully financed Karowe underground expansion project.
A conservative estimate shows that the project will add US$4 billion in additional revenues to future revenues and extend mine life to at least 2040.
According to Thomas, higher diamond prices combined with solid operational performance from Karowe Mine and Lucara’s novel, diversified approach to diamond sales through HB, Clara and traditional tenders has delivered strong revenues for the company in 2021. He said this delivered strong revenues for the company in 2022, thus demonstrating a full recovery from the challenges of the pandemic and reflecting a much better outlook for 2022 and beyond.
Operational highlights for Karowe Mine in the review for the quarter and year ended 31 December 2021 show that ore and waste mined were at 3.7 million tonnes, a new annual record since the start of production at the mine was set at 2.8 million tons compared to 2.7 million in the prior period. In addition, a total of 369,390 carats were recovered at a recovered grade of 12.93 carats per hundred tonnes of ore while 39 diamonds greater than 100 carats were recovered during the year.
For quarter four of 2021, revenues generated from the sale of diamonds from Karowe Mine amounted to US$56.5 million with carats recovered from the mine sold for revenues during the period at 102,791. Lucara forecasts that diamond revenue from the mine for the full 2022 financial year will increase from US$195 million to US$225 million. The diamond market largely improved in the fourth quarter of 2021 to pre-pandemic levels, owing to strengthening diamond jewellery demand against a backdrop of declining global diamond supply.
“Importantly, this price strength has been broad based, observed across a range of sizes, qualities and colours for both rough and polished diamonds, highlighting a return to a healthier, balanced supply chain and a positive outlook for sustained price strength going forward,” Lucara observed. Lucara is a leading independent producer of Type IIa diamonds from its 100 percent owned Karowe Mine in Botswana.
