New Lucara management to focus on Karowe, digital sales platform

JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – TSX-listed diamond miner Lucara has announced that incoming Lucara CFO and corporate secretary Zara Boldt will join the management team as the company focuses on increasing the value of its core diamond mining business at Karowe, Botswana, and on supporting the development of Clara, the company’s new secure, digital diamond sales platform, said Lucara CEO Eira Thomas.

These moves are being taken to consolidate all of Lucara’s management team in a common Vancouver office.

Outgoing Lucara CFO Glenn Kondo and Lucara legal VP and corporate secretary Jennifer Lecour were thanked for their services. They agreed to remain in an advisory capacity with the company until May 31, to facilitate the smooth transition of their respective responsibilities to Boldt.

“Under Glenn’s leadership, the company has developed and fostered a strong culture of fiscal responsibility and operational excellence, supported by a finance team with significant experience in Botswana and Canada,” said Thomas.

“Jennifer’s contributions included the establishment and management of key commercial contracts at Karowe, and the development of a strong governance framework for the company,” she highlighted.

Boldt is a professional accountant who has spent the majority of her career in progressively senior financial leadership roles within public companies in the mineral exploration and development industry.

“Boldt served as the CFO and corporate secretary for Strongbow Exploration. In addition, she served as the CFO and corporate secretary of Kaminak Gold Corporation, where she was responsible for corporate due diligence and the negotiation, documentation and execution of a plan of arrangement for an acquisition transaction valued at C$520-million.”

Prior to this, Boldt served for eight years as the finance VP and CFO for Stornoway Diamond Corporation, where she was a member of the senior management team responsible for arranging financing in excess of $900-million for the development of the Renard diamond mine, in Quebec.

Boldt is also a director and chairperson of the audit committee for Bluestone Resources and Gold Standard Ventures.

CLARA PLATFORM
Lucara’s Clara platform uses proprietary analytics, together with cloud and blockchain technologies, to modernise the existing diamond supply chain, driving efficiencies and ensuring diamond provenance across the entire value chain.

The platform, following the $29-million acquisition of Clara Diamond Solutions by Lucara in February, would unlock value for diamond producers and manufacturers alike.

Clara is a commercially scalable, digital platform that applies computing algorithms to match rough diamond production to specific polished manufacturing demand on a stone by stone basis.

It allows buyers to source rough diamonds tailored to specific polished diamond demand resulting in improved margins for both buyers and sellers. The platform also eliminates dependency on a fixed sales cycle, reducing unwanted carrying costs for stakeholders.

Additional reporting by Megan van Wyngaardt.