Karowe is an open-pit operation (Company)

Karowe is an open-pit operation (Company)

Lukas Lundin's Lucara Diamond (LUC:TSX) sold almost $23 million from their third 'exceptional' stone tender.  The diamonds were from the company's Karowe mine in Botswana which has been the backbone of the company's success this year.  In May of this year, LUC announced their first stone tender which sold 15 stones for gross revenue of $24.85 million.  Then later, in September, they announced their second stone sale which brought in $24.7 million.  Included in the announced 14 single stone lots that were sold in the most recent tender, was a 256.6-carat stone which sold for $4.4 million and another large, 137.9-carat stone worth over $4.28 million.  An additional seven diamonds sold for more than $1.0-million each.

The company will hold one more regular tender during the fourth quarter, bringing the total volume of diamonds sold in 2013 to over 420,000 carats as forecast.  The company also announces the continued recovery of beautiful, exceptionally large stones from the Karowe mine, including a 167-carat diamond and a 122-carat diamond which will be sold on tender in 2014.

William Lamb, President and CEO, commented: "This success truly demonstrates how robust the market continues to be for large, high-quality diamonds. Globally, diamonds above 100 carats are exceedingly rare, yet since March alone, Karowe has produced 16 diamonds greater than 100 carats each."

LUC has been soaring this year, up over 155% this year following exceptional production and sales from the Karowe mine.

Here's the YTD chart:

LUC Chart

Read: Lucara's Third Exceptional Diamond Sale Brings in $22.9 Million and Additional Large Stones Recovered from Karowe