Karowe diamond mine underground project, Botswana – update
Original announcement by miningweekly on
- Company
- Lucara Diamond Corp
- Ticker
- Unavailable
- Exchange
- Unavailable
- Region
- Botswana
- Primary commodity
- Diamond
- Secondary commodities
- None reported
- Document categories
- Resource update, Production
- Extracted
- 2026-09-04 08:41:34 UTC
Analysis by Minestarters Atlas
Minestarters Atlas analysis
Summary
Lucara Diamond Corp has updated its Karowe underground project in Botswana, supported by a 2025 feasibility study. The project includes 37.3 million tonnes of probable reserves at 12.2 cpht and is expected to reach full-scale underground production in the first half of 2028.
Reasoning: The update provides a comprehensive overview of the 2025 feasibility study, confirming significant probable reserves and a robust NPV for the transition to underground mining.
Positive factors
- Probable reserves established for underground project
- Strong NPV of $432.1-million
- Project on schedule for 2028 production despite minor headframe delay
- Mining licence secured until 2046
Negative factors
- Six-week delay to production-shaft headframe construction noted
Facts used in scoring: 3
Classification and evidence
Probable Reservepositive
Indicated Resource with demonstrated economic viability after applying modifying factors.
Why it applies: The 2025 mineral reserve estimate is classified as probable reserves.
Evidence · text
“all classified as probable reserves”
Resource Updateneutral
Revised estimate for an existing resource — compare to prior to assess progress.
Why it applies: The document provides an update on the feasibility study and mineral reserve estimate.
Evidence · text
“Karowe diamond mine underground project, Botswana – update”
Extracted facts
Stored fact records: 3. Some facts used in scoring do not have a stored record.
Resource Estimates (3)
probablediamondTonnes: 37300000Grade: 12.2Grade Unit: cphtContained Metal: 4547000Contained Unit: ctView all detailsHide details
Identity
- Commodity
- diamond
Resource Data
- Category
- probable
- Tonnes
- 37300000
- Grade
- 12.2
- Grade Unit
- cpht
- Contained Metal
- 4547000
- Contained Unit
- ct
Review
- Needs Review
- No
- Historical
- No
Dates
- Event date
- 2026-09-03T00:00:00.000Z
Reasoning: Total probable reserves for the project are clearly stated.
Positive factors
- Significant total reserve tonnage
Evidence · text
“2025 mineral reserve estimate, effective September 30, 2025, totals 37.3-million tonnes containing 4.547-million carats at 12.2 carats per hundred tonnes (cpht), all classified as probable reserves”
probablediamondTonnes: 28500000Grade: 12.9Grade Unit: cphtContained Metal: 3669000Contained Unit: ctView all detailsHide details
Identity
- Commodity
- diamond
Resource Data
- Category
- probable
- Tonnes
- 28500000
- Grade
- 12.9
- Grade Unit
- cpht
- Contained Metal
- 3669000
- Contained Unit
- ct
Review
- Needs Review
- No
- Historical
- No
Dates
- Event date
- 2026-09-03T00:00:00.000Z
Reasoning: Specific underground portion of the probable reserves is disclosed.
Positive factors
- High-grade underground component
Evidence · text
“includes underground reserves of 28.5-million tonnes containing 3.669-million carats at 12.9 cpht”
probablediamondTonnes: 7600000Grade: 9.8Grade Unit: cphtContained Metal: 745000Contained Unit: ctView all detailsHide details
Identity
- Commodity
- diamond
Resource Data
- Category
- probable
- Tonnes
- 7600000
- Grade
- 9.8
- Grade Unit
- cpht
- Contained Metal
- 745000
- Contained Unit
- ct
Review
- Needs Review
- No
- Historical
- No
Dates
- Event date
- 2026-09-03T00:00:00.000Z
Reasoning: Stockpile reserves are clearly delineated from underground reserves.
Positive factors
- Provides immediate feed via stockpiles
Evidence · text
“stockpile reserves of 7.6-million tonnes containing 745 000 ct at 9.8 cpht”
How Atlas produces this analysis
Minestarters Atlas uses automated extraction to summarize mining announcements, identify reported measurements, and classify supporting evidence. Sentiment reflects the extracted narrative and classification rules; it is an interpretation, not a reported measurement. Evidence quotes and context are provided where available. Missing data, low-confidence results, and review flags indicate limitations. Check the original publisher announcement before relying on an interpretation.