Our PROJECTS

Mothae Kimberlite
—mine

About the project

Sitting 3000 metres above sea level in the diamond-rich Maluti Mountains of Lesotho, lies the Mothae Mine.

Mothae is owned by Lucapa (70%) along with its partner, the Government of the Kingdom of Lesotho (30%).
The mine has been in commercial operation since January 2019 following the commissioning of the 1.1 Million tonne per annum kimberlite processing plant with an XRT (X-Ray Transmission) recovery facility. The treatment facility is undergoing upgrades to increase the throughput capacity.

historic recoveries

The diamonds from Mothae command the second highest dollar per carat for kimberlite diamonds.

This is after the Letseng mine which is just 5 kilometres from Mothae. Mothae has had many significant gem quality recoveries since commencing production including a 215 carat D-colour Type IIa, a 204 carat Type IIa and rare pink, blue and yellow fancy coloured diamonds.

Mine to market

Fancy Intense Yellow

Rough

38ct

This yellow coloured rough diamond was recovered from Mothae and sold into the polishing partnership.

Polished

21ct

A stunning fancy intense yellow cushion cut diamond was the largest gemstone cut from the rough

About the project

A modern mine in the Maluti Mountains.

In 2021, Mothae’s camp and administration buildings were moved to a new location out of the pit blast zone and the old site was rehabilitated. A new waste facility was built in 2022 to treat the mine’s sewage, grey and black water, producing safe and disposable effluent and waste.

MOTHAE JORC CLASSIFIED DIAMOND RESOURCE – 31 DECEMBER 2022
LUCAPA 70% ATTRIBUTABLE
RESOURCE
CLASSIFICATION
DATETONNES
(MT)
GRADE
(CPHT)
CARATS
(MILLION)
MODELLED
VALUES
(US$/carat)
Indicated31-Dec-226.983.10.21629
Inferred31-Dec-2239.162.40.96602
TOTAL46.132.51.17607
Notes:
(i) Table contains rounded figures.
(ii) The grade and average modelled value estimates are quoted at a 3mm BCOS but with incidental diamond recoveries in the +9 and +11 DTC sieves included.
(iii) The update is solely based on resource depletion due to mining between 31 Dec 2021 and 31 Dec 2022.
(iv) The Indicated Resource contains material to 75m below pit bottom (at 30 Sep 2020) in the South Lobe only. The Inferred Resource contains the remaining material to 300m below surface in the South, Neck and North lobes.
(v) The tonnes and grades are quoted as dry tonnes and dry grades.
(vi) Unclassified kimberlite exists from a depth of 300m to 500m below surface.
(vii) This resource was first published on 15 October 2020.

+100 Carats—RECOVERED

2022 | JuneMothae Kimberlite Mine, Lesotho

129ct

2022 | MayMothae Kimberlite Mine, Lesotho

204ct

2022 | FebruaryMothae Kimberlite Mine, Lesotho

124ct

2021 | FebruaryMothae Kimberlite Mine, Lesotho

103ct

2021 | FebruaryMothae Kimberlite Mine, Lesotho

213ct

2020 | DecemberMothae Kimberlite Mine, Lesotho

101ct

2019 | NovemberMothae Kimberlite Mine, Lesotho

127ct

2019 | NovemberMothae Kimberlite Mine, Lesotho

220ct

2019 | MayMothae Kimberlite Mine, Lesotho

126ct

Merlin Kimberlite
Diamond Project