LONRHO MINING LIMITED is pleased to announce the company has recovered a gem quality 131.5 carat diamond and a 38.3 carat diamond from its Lulo Concession in Angola.
The white 131.5 carat diamond was recovered from the BLK_08 bulk sample (Figure 1) and is by far the biggest diamond recovered by Lonrho since the Perth-based company began treating alluvial gravels through its Dense Media Separation (DMS) plant at the Lulo project in 2010. The 38.3 carat stone was also from BLK_08 and is the third biggest diamond recovered from Lulo to date.
The pictures of the 131.5 and 38.3 carat diamonds recovered from the Lulo Concession were taken prior to acid
washing to remove surface impurities.
BLK_8 is one of a series of bulk samples collected from the valley of the Cacuilo River within the Lulo Concession. The alluvial sampling program is designed to evaluate widespread and different aged
diamondiferous gravel deposits identified within the Cacuilo River valley.
Diamonds from BLK_08
The recovery of the 131.5 and 38.3 carat diamonds comes as Lonrho prepares for the exciting kimberlite drilling phase at the 3,000km2
Lulo Concession. This involves the drill testing of 61 kimberlite targets which were prioritised by international diamond expert Manfred Marx.
Lonrho Managing Director Miles Kennedy said the latest diamond recoveries underline the world-class
exploration potential of the Lulo Concession.
“The recovery of such a spectacular 131.5 carat diamond i n particular highlights both the prospectivity of the diamondiferous gravels in the Cacuilo River valley and, more significantly, the kimberlite pipe that has shed
this stone,” said Mr Kennedy.
“Given the incredible size of this diamond, there is little doubt the kimberlite source is very close by.”
As reported to the ASX on 30 July 2012, the specialist BAUER rig has arrived on site at Lulo in preparation for the kimberlite drilling program, which is the culmination of a systematic four-year exploration program.
The BAUER rig can undertake both narrow diameter drilling to confirm the presence of kimberlite and wide diameter drilling to extract bulk samples to process through Lonrho’s DMS plant.
