Lulo hosts a major kimberlite province and extensive diamond-bearing alluvial gravels.

Lulo lies within the ideal tectonic and stratigraphic setting where the Lucapa Graben crosses Angola’s most diamond rich Cuango basin. The Lucapa Graben is the same geological belt hosting most of Angola’s producing kimberlite mines, including neighbouring Catoca, the world’s fourth largest diamond mine.

Lulo hosts 296 kimberlite targets in two separate provinces, of which 96 have been classified as proven and probable kimberlites and four confirmed as diamond-bearing pipes.

Alluvial diamonds
Alluvial diamonds is the term used to describe diamonds that have been eroded from its primary source (ie from a kimberlite or lamproite intrusive host) and over time (millions of years) deposited in a new secondary environment such as gravels in a river bed, or off-shore.

Three different aged gravel horizons within the project area:
• Calonda Formation: a fluvial sedimentary sequence of Late Cretaceous age, largely accumulated as fan deposits and braided stream washes which formed around the time of the kimberlite eruptions in the area. Poorly-sorted diamondbearing basal gravel (0.3 - 4m in thickness) overlain by gritty sands and silts.
• Kalahari Formation: a gravel horizon at or near the base of the Kalahari Formation, largely wind-blown sand unit with fluvial components near the base. The gravel units contain abundant kimberlitic indic ........

Lucapa and its Angolan partners Endiama and Rosas & Petalas commenced commercial alluvial diamond mining operations at Lulo in January 2015.

Alluvial mining and exploration activities at Lulo have until recently been focused primarily on the terrace deposits along a ~50km stretch of the Cacuilo River running through the ~3,000km2 concession, much of which remains untested.

However, through ongoing exploration programs, the Lulo partners recently discovered that in addition to the terraces, the previously-untested flood plains (leziria areas) along the Cacuilo River also host large and premium-quality diamonds.

A new Volvo and Caterpillar fleet of earthmooving equpment was purchases and arrived on site during 2019, comprising six excavators, eight trucks, two tracked dozers and a wheel dozer.

This additional fleet is part of an expansion program designer to deliver a ~50% increase annulisated in carat production in 2020.

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