LUCARA ANNOUNCES Q3 RESULTS WITH A 57% INCREASE IN REVENUE TO $72.7 MILLION FOLLOWING A STRONG PRODUCTION QUARTER

Lucara Diamond Corp. (“Lucara” or the “Company”) today reports its results for the third quarter of 2021 ending September 30, 2021, with strong financial and operational performance.

Q3 2021 HIGHLIGHTS:

• Revenue of $72.7 million during Q3 2021, a 57% increase over the previous quarter, resulted in an average price per carat sold of $619.
• Board sanction of the $534 million Karowe underground expansion project extending the mine life out to 2040, following the arrangement of full project funding through a combination of debt and equity financings.
• The Karowe underground expansion project continued to ramp up in Q3 with the commencement of pre-sinking activities on both the ventilation and production shafts under a total spend of $64 million to date in 2021.
• Strong production in the third quarter with recovery of Specials (+10.8 carats) at 7.9% weight percent:
  • Recovery of four pink diamonds from direct milling from the EM/PK(S) unit of the South Lobe, including a 62.7 carat high quality, fancy pink Type IIa gem diamond and a 22.21 carat pink gem of similar quality along with two additional pink gems of similar colour and purity weighing 11.17, and 5.05 carats.
  • Recovery of a 393.5 carat top white Type IIa gem quality diamond from direct milling of ore sourced from the M/PK(S) unit of the South Lobe. This is the third gem quality +300 carat produced from the M/PK(S) unit in 2021, following the recovery of two top white gems (341 carats and 378 carats) in January 2021. In addition, a 257.7 carat top white Type IIa gem quality diamond was recovered during the August production month.
• Clara platform transaction values totaled $6.6 million in Q3 2021, a 136% increase from the $2.8 million transacted in Q3 2020. Clara observed strong price increases continuing through the quarter and the number of buyers on the platform increased from 84 to 87 as of September 30, 2021.
• Sales under the HB supply agreement of $50.5 million in Q3 2021, resulting in an average price per carat of $8,066. The strong performance reflects a high proportion of Specials (+10.8 carat) recovered and sold, higher market prices for diamonds, and top-up payments received for polished diamond sales.

Eira Thomas, President & CEO commented:

“Strong production, including a high volume of Specials (diamonds >10.8 carats in size), combined with our innovative and optimized approach to sales of rough and polished diamonds into a strengthening market for diamond jewellery, has delivered a 57% increase in revenues quarter over quarter. The Company also formally sanctioned the underground expansion project, following the arrangement of full project financing, which will support operations at Karowe at current production rates until at least 2040. These developments have significantly de-risked Lucara’s outlook on growth and has positioned the Company to benefit from a stronger, more stabilized diamond price environment as global rough diamond supply remains constrained.”

News in full

In the TV clip below, Lucara’s CEO Eira Thomas explains the business, including the deal with Louis Vuitton and tells us more about Clara, Lucara’s wholly owned digital sales platform