OREANDA-NEWS. December 04, 2015. Lucara Diamond Corp. ("Lucara" or the "Company") is pleased to provide operating guidance for 2016 and its progressive dividend policy.

Highlights

·       Revenue of US \\$200 million to US \\$220 million is budgeted.  This excludes the sale of exceptionally high value diamonds recovered during 2016 and the Company's current high value diamond inventory, including the 1,111 and 813 carat diamonds recently recovered.

·       Karowe operating cash costs (including waste mining) are expected to be between US \\$33.5-\\$36.5 per tonne treated.

·       The Company is investing in organic growth through exploration and potential resource extension at Karowe while enhancing the recovery of exceptionally large, high value diamonds at the mine.

·       A progressive dividend policy will be introduced in 2016 with the aim of maintaining or increasing the Canadian dollar dividend per share each year.  The Company anticipates it will declare an annual dividend of Canadian \\$0.06 per share in 2016 to be paid in four equal payments at the end of each financial quarter.

William Lamb, President and Chief Executive Officer commented, "Lucara had a successful operating year in 2015 which culminated in the historic recovery of the world's second and sixth largest gem quality diamonds. Our 2015 performance has positioned us well for 2016 as we focus on mining in the high value south lobe and advancing our organic growth projects at Karowe.  We continue to deliver strong cash flows and returns for our shareholders and as a result we are introducing a progressive dividend policy".

Karowe - Diamond Sales, Production and Cost Outlook (US\\$):

 

Karowe Mine

Full Year 2016

Diamond revenue (million) - excluding sale of high value exceptional diamonds

\\$200 - \\$220

Diamond sales (thousands of carats)

340 - 380

Waste tonnes mined (million)

13.0 - 14.0

Ore tonnes milled (million)

2.2 - 2.4

Operating cash costs including waste mined (per tonne milled).  This includes costs of (a) to (c) as follows:

\\$33.5 - \\$36.5

  (a) Ore and waste mined cash costs (per tonne mined)

\\$2.50 - \\$2.75

  (b) Processing cash costs (per tonne milled)

\\$11.0 - \\$12.5

(c) Mine on-site departmental costs (security, technical services, mine planning, safety and health, geology) - per tonne milled

\\$3.50 - \\$4.50

Operating cash costs excluding waste mined (per tonne milled)

\\$20.0 - \\$22.0

Botswana general and administration costs including marketing costs (per tonne milled)

\\$2.50 - \\$3.00

Diamond Revenue

The Company forecasts that annual revenue of between US \\$200 million to US \\$220 million excluding the sale of exceptionally high value diamonds such as the recently recovered 1,111 and 813 carat diamonds. This baseline revenue is supported by Karowe's consistent recovery and yearly sales of its current diamond profile, including specials (+10.8 carats) and its exceptional diamonds.  Although the Company has recovered exceptionally high value stones from the mine and is now focused on the high value south lobe, it is unable to predict when these diamonds will be recovered and sold. The Company therefore considers sales from these diamonds as additional revenue to the baseline US \\$200 million to US \\$220 million revenue forecast, which has the potential to significantly increase annual cash flows.

2016 Production

The Karowe mine is forecast to treat between 2.2 to 2.4 million tonnes of ore, producing over 350,000 carats of diamond.  The mine is expected to process up to 60% of material from the south lobe during 2016.  Karowe is forecast to mine between 13.0 and 14.0 tonnes of waste during 2016.  Waste mining continues to open up the full extent of the south lobe.

Cash Costs - Operating costs per tonne milled

Cash costs per tonne of ore treated is forecast to be between US \\$33.5 to US \\$36.5 per tonne. The forecast increase in operating cash costs from 2015 is due to investment in changes to the process plant facilities to improve large diamond recovery and to process harder material from deeper in the south lobe, current forecast power costs in Botswana and a CPI increase in Botswana of approximately 4%.

Karowe - Investment in Organic Growth and Recovery of Exceptionally Large High Value Diamonds

The Company is investing in organic growth at Karowe and enhancing the capability to recover exceptionally large, high value diamonds.  These investments include:

o     Exploration program:  A budget of up to US \\$7.0 million has been allocated to advance bulk sampling and drilling work at the Company's two exploration licenses. 

o     Karowe deep drilling on the AK6 kimberlite and south lobe is budgeted at US \\$3.7 million with the aim of converting inferred resources below 400 metres depth to an indicated resource and to determine the economic viability for underground mining, potentially extending the life of mine at Karowe.

o     Exceptional large diamond recovery installation: The current process circuit has been designed to recover diamonds to a maximum size of up to 1,000 carats.   Based on the recent recoveries of very large diamonds and the expected continuation of recoveries of exceptionally large diamonds in the south lobe the Company will be integrating an additional large diamond recovery process with an investment of between US \\$15 million to US \\$18 million.

Sustaining Capital Expenditures

 

Sustaining capital is budgeted at up to US \\$11 million including on time costs of US \\$1.5 million for a mill re-liner, an investment of US \\$1.5 million for a combined sales and administrative office in Gaborone.

Dividend Policy

In 2016, the Company will introduce a progressive dividend with the aim of maintaining or increasing the Canadian dollar dividends per share paid each year on a quarterly basis. The Company anticipates it will declare an annual dividend in 2016 of Canadian 6 cents per share to be paid in four equal payments at the end of each financial quarter.  The amount of any dividend declared will remain at the discretion of the Board of Directors.  In determining the rate of the total dividend, in Canadian dollars per share, the Board of Directors will consider current operating results and outlook, the need to invest to maintain profitable long term growth, the external environment and any other factors deemed relevant. This dividend policy replaces the Company's current policy, which contemplates a semi-annual dividend payment and a potential performance related based on performance.