Lucara Diamond Corp. is a Canadian publicly listed diamond mining company headquartered in Vancouver, with its principal operating asset the Karowe mine in Botswana. Founded in 2007 and listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange (LUC), Lucara has earned a disproportionate place in modern diamond trade discussions through its consistent recovery of unusually large, high-quality rough stones from Karowe's southern lobe.

Karowe operations

The Karowe (Setswana for precious stone) mine sits in north-central Botswana, on the AK6 kimberlite pipe acquired from De Beers in 2009 and brought into production in 2012. Karowe is a relatively small pipe by carat output but is notable for the size and quality distribution of its diamonds, with a meaningful proportion of the value coming from stones above 10.8 carats classed as specials. Lucara installed XRT (X-ray transmission) sorting equipment to detect such large stones early in the recovery process, before they can be broken in conventional crushing circuits, and credits the technology with the preservation of several of its most celebrated finds.

Notable recoveries

Karowe has produced a remarkable run of named and exceptional diamonds. The 1,109-carat Lesedi La Rona, recovered in November 2015, was the second-largest gem-quality rough diamond ever found, surpassed only by the 3,106-carat Cullinan of 1905. Lesedi La Rona was sold in 2017 to Graff Diamonds for US$53 million. Subsequent finds include the 1,758-carat Sewelô (2019), the 1,174-carat unnamed stone of June 2021, and the 2,492-carat stone recovered in August 2024, the latter being the second-largest rough diamond ever recorded. Lucara's HB Antwerp partnership has handled the cutting and marketing of several of these large stones under bespoke commercial terms.

Industry significance

For a producer of Lucara's modest carat scale, the company exerts an outsized influence on the upper tier of the rough market through its consistent supply of large, high-clarity stones. The mine plan provides for an underground extension below the open pit, extending the mine life into the 2040s and securing future supply of large special-size goods. Lucara's experience has also been cited by other producers, including Petra at Cullinan and Gem Diamonds at Letšeng, in the case for investment in XRT and large-stone-friendly recovery circuits.