Lucapa Diamond Company has recovered 41 rough diamonds from a new kimberlite bulk sample from its Lulo mine in Angola, including two specials weighing 15.27 and 12.37 carats.

Of the diamonds retrieved, 12 are greater than 1 carat, Lucapa said Monday. Those have a combined weight of 50.21 carats and account for 76% of the discovery by volume. The average stone size is 1.61 carats.

“The Lulo kimberlite-exploration program has delivered tangible proof that the Lulo kimberlite province hosts primary sources containing specials, confirming Lucapa’s…long-held views,” said Lucapa managing director Stephen Wetherall. “Preliminary indications are that the kimberlite deposit has a very coarse (large) average stone size…which compares very favorably to two of the coarsest primary-source kimberlites globally, the Mothae and Letšeng mines in Lesotho.”

The varying size-frequency distributions and diamond characteristics from the alluvial diamond-mining blocks provide evidence that there are multiple primary sources contributing to the rough found in the main Lulo alluvial pit, Lucapa explained. The L164 kimberlite is one of a number the company identified as targets for bulk sampling. It will continue processing ore from the remaining kimberlites, it added.

Image: Some of the rough diamonds recovered in the bulk sample. (Lucapa Diamond Company)