The Lucapa Diamond Company said it will allocate a portion of the money raised from the large diamonds it has found in alluvial mining in Angola to finance the hunt for the kimberlite pipes from which the gems have originated, the firm said.
The diamond explorer is using its part of the $16.7 million from the sale of a 404-carat diamond sold in February and found the month before to find the source of the discoveries.
We’re finding some of the very best diamonds in the world,” Chief Executive Officer Stephen Wetherall told Bloomberg. “It’s telling us there is something big close by.”
The CEO and his team say they’re finding tell-tale signs of kimberlite beneath the area they’re currently mining.
Apart from the 404-carat gem, the firm has discovered five more gems greater than 50 carats so far this year. Lucapa hopes to raise money on the London Stock Exchange to finance the construction of a mine if it does find the kimberlite source, Wetherall added.