Due to adverse market conditions, including unfavorable capital dynamics and dropping diamond prices, Lucapa Diamond, an Australian mining firm, has postponed the feasibility study for its Merlin project in the Northern Territory.
Due to unfavorable capital market and diamond price conditions, Lucapa Diamond has chosen to postpone the feasibility study for its Merlin project in Australia’s Northern Territory. The business will now investigate a smaller-scale, lower-cost development path for the mine, which was expected to become Australia’s largest commercial diamond operation.
Lucapa, which has been debt-free since July, intends to use existing resources, such as the trial mining plant and front-end scrubber, to produce Merlin.
The move comes during a difficult diamond market, which has seen a 20% drop in demand for polished diamonds and a 35% drop in rough diamond pricing. Lucapa, which operates two mines in Africa, is committed to rebuilding its balance sheet over the next 12 months.