Lucara Lifts Production Outlook

RAPAPORT... Lucara Diamond Corp. raised its production forecast for the fullyear after recovering more carats in the third quarter than it had anticipated. A strong operational performance at the Karowe mine'sprocessing plant resulted in improved recovery of smaller diamonds, Lucara saidThursday. The miner now expects to recover 325,000 to 350,000 carats in 2018, versusa previous estimate of 270,000 to 290,000 carats. "Third-quarter operational performance at Karowe exceededexpectations with respect to ore mined and carats produced, and reflects aseamless transition, three months ahead of schedule, to our new miningcontractor," said Lucara CEO Eira Thomas. "In parallel, we saw higher assetavailability and record utilization rates for the process plant, positivelyimpacting carat recoveries." The higher production will have a minor impact on sales, as mostof Lucara's revenue is from large stones. The company therefore didn't raiseits sales forecast. It did, however, revise it slightly to between $180 millionand $190 million, compared with its earlier range of $170 million to $200million. Total production more than doubled to 127,031 carats in thethird quarter from 62,425 carats a year ago. Revenue declined 41% to $45.7million, as the same period last yearincluded the $53 million sale of the 1,109-carat Lesedi La Rona. The averageselling price plunged 61% to $450 per carat due to the absence of thatexceptional stone, though sales volume jumped 51% to 101,600 carats. Net profitslumped 84% to $5.1 million. Lucara recovered 197 diamonds over 10.8 carats from itsKarowe mine in Botswana during the period, including 10 that weighed more than 100carats, the company noted. Image: Karowe mine. (Lucara Diamond Corp.)