The 54% increase in the average value of diamonds to US$1,246 per carat will offer a significant increase in the financial results of the Lulo concession in Angola, Australia’s Lucapa Diamond Company said in a statement on Monday.

An initial study estimated that the average price per carat would be around US$800 and the discrepancy is the result of the Australian company finding a large a diamond, of 404 carats, the largest found in Angola and the 12th in the world which, after selling for more than US$16 million, increased the average price.

The company, which operates the Lulo mine, reported that it continues to estimate alluvial mining operations over more than four years with monthly processing of 20,000 tonnes of rubble.

The two studies, carried out within 15 months of each other, were the result an analysis of results obtained from the processing of 220,000 bulk cubic metres (bcm) of rubble.

At the Lulo mine the Lucapa Diamond Company’s partners state diamond company Empresa Nacional de Angola Diamonds (Endiama), with 32% and Angolan private company Rosas & Pétalas with 28%. (macauhub)