Australian Securities Exchange (ASX)-listed diamond miner Lucapa Diamond Company has announced the finalisation of its mineral investment contract (MIC) for the Lulo joint venture (JV) in Angola, increasing its stake in the JV to 51%.
The contract is now pending a formal signature by the Angolan Ministry of Mineral Resources and Petroleum.
The Lulo JV focuses on the exploration of kimberlites at the Lulo concession in Angola.
The MIC was proposed to increase Lucapa’s interest in the Lulo JV from 39% to a majority stake of 51%.
The finalisation of the contract was achieved after a three-day meeting in Angola, where the MIC Committee and JV partners Endiama, Rosas & Petalas and Lucapa agreed on the outstanding details.
Lucapa managing director and CEO Alex Kidman said: “Securing a majority stake of the Lulo exploration JV is a pivotal outcome for Lucapa because it will deliver us an increased share of any exploration success and the finalisation of the new MIC is something a number of our shareholders have been awaiting for a long time.
“The progress with the MIC shows Angola’s commitment to Lucapa and to Lulo, as one of the highest profile diamond projects in the country and we look forward to continuing to work with our partners to find the source of Lulo’s incredible diamonds.”
Currently, the Kimberlite bulk sampling programme is under way at the Lulo concession, with stockpiling of a sample from L130/01.
The programme is also preparing to process samples from other promising sites including L349, L137 and L130.
In May 2024, Lucapa Diamond announced plans to offload a 70% interest in the Mothae diamond mine in Lesotho.
