Lucara Diamond Corp has built up a much stronger cash position as it prepares to move Botswana’s Karowe Diamond Mine from open-pit mining to underground operations, with its cash reserves now worth about P3.28 billion.
The diamond producer ended the second quarter with $243.6 million (about P3.28 billion) in cash, up sharply from $31.9 million at the end of 2025. The stronger cash position comes as Lucara continues spending on the Karowe Underground Project, which is expected to cost $779.2 million (about P10.5 billion) in total.
As of June 30, the company said $275.9 million (about P3.71 billion) was still needed to complete the project, while another $99.8 million (about P1.34 billion) had been committed but not yet spent.
The stronger balance sheet comes despite weaker diamond sales during the quarter. Lucara recorded $41 million (about P552 million) in revenue in Q2, down 6 percent from $43.7 million (about P588 million) in the same period last year. The company blamed the decline mainly on fewer carats sold through its tender sales and lower prices for diamonds weighing less than 10.8 carats.
However, quarterly profit improved, with net income rising to $15.6 million (about P210 million) from $12.5 million (about P168 million) in Q2 2025.
The company also managed to bring down its operating costs. Cost per tonne processed fell by 11% to $23.76 (about P320), from $26.76 a year earlier. Lucara said the lower cost was mainly due to processing more tonnesduring the quarter, although higher electricity and fuel costs partly offset the benefit.
For the first six months of the year, revenue fell to $62.8 million (about P846 million) from $74 million (about P997 million), while net income dropped to $1 million (about P13.5 million) from $12.4 million (about P167 million). Diamonds sold also declined from 150,038 carats to 138,297 carats.
Despite this, Lucara has kept its full-year revenue target of $100 million to $130 million (about P1.35 billion to P1.75 billion).
The company is now approaching a major change at Karowe. Open-pit mining is expected to end in the fourth quarter of this year, after which Lucara will process ore already mined and stored in stockpiles while the underground operation is completed. Full-scale underground production is planned for the first half of 2028.
Work on the underground project is moving forward. Lucara spent $22.1 million (about P298 million) on the UGP during the second quarter, mainly on the shafts, underground development and surface infrastructure.
About 410 meters of underground development was completed during the quarter, taking total development to 1,655 meters. The Botswana Department of Mines also licensed the production shaft’s winders in July, marking another step toward underground production.
The project did face an approximately six-week delay in headframe construction because of late steel deliveries and reworking of some steel on site. Lucara, however, said it has maintained the overall project schedule and budget.
Karowe also produced another major stone in July, a 1,303-carat Type IIa diamond, Lucara’s tenth diamond of more than 1,000 carats since the mine started operating. The company expects the underground mine to give it access to the higher-value part of the Karowe orebody and extend the mine’s life to 2038.
