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by Will Purcell

The diamond and specialty minerals stocks box score on Monday was a weak 61-93-156 as the TSX Venture Exchange fell 11 points to 789. Weak rough diamond prices -- they are nearly 40 per cent lower than in early 2022 -- have only been part of the havoc plaguing Adam Lundin and Dr. William Lamb's Lucara Diamond Corp. (LUC) of late. Lucara, which was unchanged at 24.5 cents on 144,000 shares today, continues to lurch horizontally near its all-time low of 21 cents, set earlier this month.

Lucara's erratic yet steady trickle of huge diamonds from its Karowe mine in Botswana does provide firm, although thin, insulation from the sagging rough diamond market. Big diamonds, you see, are not made by manufacturers of synthetic gems -- and the billionaires who buy them would be loath to buy them in any case. Unfortunately, as Lucara rejigs its operation at Karowe toward the start of underground mining in the rich South lobe, the company must make do with the meagre offerings found in the stockpiled kimberlite that the mine must process until its underground dig reaches production in 2028.

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