[caption id="attachment_1083" align="alignleft" width="286" caption="The Letseng Legacy, mined not far from where Lucara has just recovered the 53.5 carat white diamond"]<a href="http://blog.biggstock.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/letseng-legacy_biggstock.jpg"><img class="size-full wp-image-1083" title="letseng-legacy_biggstock" src="http://blog.biggstock.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/letseng-legacy_biggstock.jpg" alt="" width="286" height="235" /></a>[/caption]

Lucara Diamond recovered a 53.5 carat, white Type IIA diamond at the company’s Mothae mine in Lesotho. The find is a big surprise, as Lucara started initial production just a few days ago.

The Mothae mine goods were give a high valuation that was not based on the finding of large high value goods. The mine is located near the Letseng mine, which is known for its many large Type IIA diamonds. In recent years, Gem Diamonds mined several such diamonds weighing more than 100 carats.

Kimberlite processing, which totals just 2,000 tonnes, commenced at Mothae on Monday of this week. Production is currently in the ramp-up stage.

“Results of initial sampling work at Mothae indicated that large diamonds are present but were being broken by the limited material size which the original bulk sample plant could process,” said President and CEO William Lamb.

“As a single stone, this diamond is more than twice the size of any previous diamond recovered from Mothae. Management views this as early confirmation of our technical assessment of Mothae’s potential and the operational approach we have taken to advance this exciting project.”

REF:<a href="http://www.idexonline.com/portal_FullNews.asp?id=34160" target="_blank" >Lucara Recovers 53.5 Carat Diamond During</a>
