Short Term Trading Weekend Lounge: 1-3 Feb, page-53

STTCOMP LOM, TA LONG

Market Cap $92.57M

Shares 457.65M

Share Price $0.195  

Overview

Feb 1(Reuters) - Lucapa Diamond Co Ltd LOM.AX :

* SEEKSTRADING HALT PENDING ANNOUNCEMENT ON RESULTS OF SALE OF 7 LULO SPECIALS ONTENDER IN ANGOLA

Lucapa Diamond Company Limited is anAustralia-based company engaged in the mining and exploration of diamondprojects in Angola. The Company is focused on Angolan diamond mining,evaluation and exploration interests in the Lulo project. The Company's segmentis engaged in exploration and development of diamond projects in Africa. It isan operator of the Lulo Diamond Concession in Angola's Lunda Norte province.The Company's Lulo Diamond Project is approximately 3,000 square kilometresconcession in Angola's Lunda Norte diamond heartland, approximately 630 kilometreseast of the Angolan capital of Luanda. The Company has discovered over twokimberlite provinces at Lulo. Approximately five Lulo kimberlites have beenproven to be diamond-bearing- or diamondiferous (L251, L257, L19, L170 andL49).

LUANDA, Jan 28 (Reuters) - Angola is planning tohold its first diamond auction this week, inviting around 35 companies to bidfor seven stones as the world's fifth largest producer moves to make the sectormore lucrative for producers and the state.

The stones, selected for their rare quality andsize, were produced by the Lulo project operated by Australia-listed Lucapa LOM.AX in the north-eastern province of LundaNorte.

"It's our conviction that the final result ofthis auction will show to our society and the wider world our total commitmentto transparency and innovation in the commercialisation of diamonds inAngola," Minister of Mineral Resources Diamantino Azevedo said on Monday.

The auction on Thursday will use a sealed system bywhich interested parties submit their offers electronically without knowingwhat others have bid. This model is proven to garner the highest price, Azevedosaid.

The new system, part of wider reforms in thecommercialisation of diamonds in Angola, has been welcomed by producers wholong complained they were not getting fair value for their stones.

Producers were previously obliged to sell through anopaque government marketing system to buyers selected by the Angolan state, aprocess they said resulted in prices well below international levels.

Angola has vowed to increase diamond production andper carat value, aiming to become a top 3 producer by 2021, as part of anattempt to diversify its economy away from a dependence on oil.