LUCARA AK6 DIAMOND VALUE INCREASES 24%


December 6, 2011 (LUC – TSX, LUC – BSE, LUC – NASDAQ OMX First North) … Lucara
Diamond Corp. (“Lucara” or the “Company”) is pleased to announce a significant
increase in the average value of diamonds recovered from the AK6 mine in
Botswana.  In anticipation of production start-up from AK6 in 2012, the Company
commissioned an updated valuation of the AK6 diamonds recovered to date,
resulting in a 24% increase in overall modeled value to US $301 per carat at a
1.5 mm cut-off size*.  This is a significant jump from the 2010 valuation and
represents the strong growth in demand for the type and quality of diamonds
produced from AK6.


Lucara’s AK6 mine is slated for production start-up in the first quarter of
2012 and will immediately become a key diamond asset producing over 400,000
carats per year on an annualized basis.  The AK6 diamond kimberlite is an
extremely rare occurrence globally with the high quality of diamonds it hosts.

 

AK6 Project 2012 Guidance

  • Diamond production to commence in Q1 2012 with full ramp up achieved during
    Q2 2012
  • Total ore mined forecast at 1.9 million tonnes in 2012 achieving an
    annualized 2.5 million tonnes per year
  • Diamond sales forecast at 325,000 carats in 2012 achieving an annualized
    400,000 carats per year
  • Operating costs of $20 per tonne to be achieved by Q4 2012
  • Initial mine life of 15 years at 2.5 million tonnes per annum – 2012 to
    2027

 

As the project transitions to operations and to better reflect the significance
of the new mine, the AK6 Project will be renamed the Karowe Mine.   Lucara
engaged with local communities and schools in search for a meaningful name for
the operating mine.  In support of our strong community relations a great deal
of interest was shown and many suggestions were received.  The adjudication
committee comprising community members and mine management selected Karowe Mine
– Karowe means ”precious stone” in the local dialect.

On November 27, 2011  Lucara’s management was pleased to host its Board of
Directors in Botswana for a board meeting followed by a site visit to AK6
(Karowe).  The board conducted a progress review of the project and approved
Lucara’s 2012 budget. 

Mr. William Lamb, President and CEO of Lucara Diamond Corp., commented, “AK6
(Karowe) is a strategic project and will soon be our first operating mine. We
are fully committed to building one of the best new mines in the industry and
look forward to being a major employer and contributor to the local communities
in which we will work for many years to come.”

 

About Lucara

Lucara is a well positioned emerging new diamond producer. The Company has an
experienced board and management team with years of diamond development
expertise. The Company’s two key assets are the AK6 (Karowe) diamond mine in
Botswana and the Mothae diamond mine in Lesotho. The 100% owned AK6 project
(Karowe Mine) is in the construction stage with mine commissioning scheduled to
commence in the first quarter of 2012. The 75% owned Mothae mine is currently
in the trial mining stage. Both Mothae and AK6 (Karowe) are large scale assets
with tonnage and throughput upside; diamond values from both could
significantly increase with the continued recovery of Type IIA and large
stones.

Mr. Anthony George, P. Eng., a mining engineer and Lucara's V.P. Development,
is the Company's Qualified Person pursuant to NI 43-101 for the AK6 project in
Botswana and has reviewed and approved the contents of this news release. 

*The independent valuation was completed by Mercury Diamond with the associated
revenue modeling completed by The MSA Group in reports  dated November, 2011.

 

On Behalf of the Board,

William Lamb

President and CEO

 

Forward Looking Statements: This document contains statements about expected or
anticipated future events and financial results of Lucara that are
forward-looking in nature and are based on Lucara's current expectations,
estimates and projections. This forward-looking information is subject to
certain risks and uncertainties, such as legal and political risk, civil
unrest, general economic, market and business conditions, the regulatory
process and actions, technical issues, new legislation, competitive and general
economic factors and conditions, the uncertainties resulting from potential
delays or changes in plans, the occurrence of unexpected events and
management's capacity to execute and implement its future plans. The actual
results, activities, performance or achievements of Lucara may differ
materially from those projected by management. A discussion of factors that may
affect Lucara's actual results, performance, achievements or financial position
is contained in the filings by Lucara with the Canadian provincial securities
regulatory authorities on the system for electronic document analysis and
retrieval ("SEDAR") at www.sedar.com.

E. Öhman J:or Fondkommission AB (Pareto Ohman), part of the Pareto Securities
group, is Lucara’s Certified Adviser on NASDAQ OMX First North.

 

For further information, please contact:

Sophia Shane, Corporate Development +1 (604) 689-7842

Robert Eriksson, Investor Relations, Sweden +46 701-112615

 

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