Lucara Diamond Corp will install four more X-ray transmission (XRT) diamond recovery units at its Karowe mine in Botswana with the aim of processing finer-size fractions, Gem Konnect reports. The new units will target the recovery of diamonds in the 4 mm to 8 mm size range.
Lucara is investing $30 million on the units, which will process the dense high-quality Karowe south lobe ore at depth. The units are expected to be completed in the fourth quarter of 2017.
Large diamond recovery XRT units were used in the recovery of the 1,109 ct Lesedi La Rona – the second-largest diamond ever recovered – at Karowe in November last year. It also aided in the discovery of the 813-carat diamond dubbed the “Constellation”, which was sold for $63.1 million in May.
