(Ecofin Agency) - Lucapa Diamond Company Ltd, Australian diamond mining company, secured USD 12 million from investors to further its mining operations and its exploration programme on kimberlites on its Lulo diamond project in Angola.

The financial contribution includes an investment of USD 3.5 million subject to the approval of shareholders and resolutions to be taken by the general meeting scheduled for 30th September, it explained on 14th September.

According to Stephen Wetherall, CEO of Lucapa, the financial intervention will give some leeway to the company which is going to extract, for the first time, diamond in two locations, block 8 and 31, in the Lulo concession.

The dual-listed company aims to invest the funds in purchasing new equipment to bring alluvial diamond operations past the rate of 20,000 m3 of bulk per month and in the setup of a working capital.

The new equipment fleet will help in improving the supply to the 150 tons per hour processing plant and enable the company to continue its operations on block 31 where 25 diamonds of over 10.8 carats were recovered, including the exceptional diamond of 63.05 carats of type 2a and colour D.

Lucapa Diamond Company Ltd got a mining permit of about 1,500 km2 for alluvial diamond, in the Lulo region, which represents 50% of the Lulo concession area.

It holds the rights to the Lulo concession covering 3,000 km2 and has, since November 2014, an operation licence, of 35 years, for the alluvial diamond on an area of 218 km2 encompassing over 50 km of the Cacuilo river in Lulo.