Lucara Diamond Corp reports its results for the quarter ended June 30, 2023. According to the Q2 2023 report takeaways,
1: Revenue for the quarter ended June 30, 2023 totalled $41.1 million.
2: The Q2 2023 operating cash cost of $27.97 per tonne of ore processed was well below the expected annual operating cash cost range of $32.50 to $35.50 per tonne of ore processed.
3: All key operational metrics were on plan, with 0.7 million tonnes of ore and 0.9 million tonnes of waste mined, 0.7 million tonnes of ore processed, and 90,497 carats recovered from direct milled ore. 4: Cash flow generated from operating activities was $9.2 million.
An updated schedule and budget for the Karowe underground expansion project was released. The duration of the construction period increased, extending the anticipated commencement of production from the underground from H2 2026 to H1 2028. The revised forecast of costs at completion is $683 million.
The long-term outlook for diamond prices, combined with the potential for exceptional stone recoveries and the continued strong performance of the open pit could mitigate the modelled impact on project cash flows due to the schedule slippage.
An investment of $22.5 million in the Karowe UGP in Q2 2023 focused on sinking and grouting programs in the ventilation and production shafts.
Eira Thomas, President & CEO commented: “Karowe delivered another solid quarter against plan in Q2 and as we returned to mining in the south lobe, the proportion of specials (diamonds greater than 10.8 carats) increased and has so far included the recovery of 13 stones over 100 carats that will be polished and sold in the latter half of the year.
The rebased schedule and budget will delay production from the underground and has increased costs by approximately 25%, however, sufficient surface stockpiles ensure that the mill will operate to capacity during this period and the project remains economically robust. The expansion continues to have the support of our largest shareholder.”
With the review for the quarter ended June 30, 2023, Lucara Diamond said, Operational highlights from the Karowe Mine for Q2 2023 included, a total of 90,497 carats recovered (Q2 2022: 86,317) at a recovered grade of 12.6 carats per hundred tonnes of direct milled ore (Q2 2022: 12.0).
A total of 162 Specials were recovered, with thirteen diamonds greater than 100 carats including four diamonds greater than 200 carats in weight. Recovered Specials equated to 6.6% of the weight percentage of total recovered carats from ore processed during Q2 2023 (Q2 2022 – 6.1%).
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