Lucara Diamond Corp and Lucara Botswana (Proprietary) Limited have announced that the government of Botswana has approved the application to renew Mining Licence No 2008/6L in respect of its AK06 (Karowe) Mine
The renewal is effective 4 January 2021 for a period of 25 years, securing Lucara's mining rights to 2046 and marks a critical step in the formal sanction of the Karowe underground expansion project.
Eira Thomas, president and CEO at Lucara Diamond Corp, commented, “The receipt of our mining licence renewal and extension to 2046 is an important milestone for the Karowe underground expansion project, paving the way for the completion of a supplemental debt financing and full project sanction later this year.”
The Karowe underground expansion project, which continued to advance in 2020 under a revised US$22mn budget in response to COVID-19, focused on time critical-path items, detailed engineering and design, and limited earth works and geotechnical studies.
The Company continues to explore debt financing options for the underground expansion for those amounts which are expected to exceed the Company's cash flow from operations during the construction period. The Company anticipates financing to be in place by the second half of this year. The underground expansion programme has an estimated capital cost of US$514mn and a five-year period of development, with first ore anticipated from underground in 2026.
