VANCOUVER, British
Columbia , Aug. 20,
2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Lucara Diamond Corp. ("Lucara" or the
"Company") (Nasdaq Stockholm: LUC) (BSE: LUC) (TSX: LUC) is
pleased to announce that Clara Diamond Solutions Corporation
("Clara"), its 100% owned subsidiary, has entered into a
Collaboration Agreement with Sarine Technologies Ltd. ("Sarine"),
the world's leading developer of technologies for the diamond
industry.
Please view PDF version of news release
Clara will be the exclusive, worldwide customer for customized
interfaces and versions of Sarine's Galaxy® inclusion mapping
technology and its Advisor® optimal rough planning for use with
Clara's 100% owned, proprietary digital diamond sales
platform. Clara is on track to launch in 2018, with inaugural
rough diamond sales set to commence in the third quarter.
Eira Thomas, CEO commented: "Clara is delighted to be partnering
with Sarine in a ground-breaking Collaboration Agreement that will
align Sarine and Clara in their efforts to create a new, leading
sales channel for rough diamonds globally. Sarine is the industry
leader in diamond Galaxy® scanning and Advisor® planning
technology, which is in widespread use in the diamond industry
today. Using these technologies in combination with our proprietary
analytics, Clara will sell rough diamonds on a stone by stone
basis, based on a customers' specific requirements and needs,
aligning rough diamond production to polished demand and unlocking
significant value throughout the diamond pipeline."
David Block, CEO of Sarine
Technologies Ltd. commented: "We are excited to have the
opportunity to contribute to this initiative as we believe it will
unlock value throughout the diamond supply chain which is a core
principle of all of Sarine's endeavours. It will provide numerous
benefits to the industry as well as to Sarine, as it broadens our
addressable market into the upstream mining and producing segment
of the diamond industry value chain. It is also the first
opportunity to extend our pay-per-services paradigm to the actual
planning of rough diamonds. We plan to further cooperate with Clara
on its provenance blockchain initiative, as our Diamond Journey™ is a natural
fit."
How does Clara work?
Clara uses proprietary analytics together with the latest cloud
and blockchain technologies to sell diamonds individually, based on
polished demand, transforming the sales process, driving
efficiencies and unlocking value for diamond producers and
manufacturers alike. Under the exclusive collaboration agreement
with Sarine, selected diamonds recovered at a mine site will
undergo Galaxy® inclusion mapping, creating a digital fingerprint
that will be uploaded to the Clara platform. Simultaneously,
diamond buyers will be uploading their specific polished diamond
requirements in terms of size, cut, color and quality for their
specific needs, creating an 'order' within Clara. Clara will
use Sarine's Advisor® optimal rough planning technology together
with proprietary analytics to match individual, scanned rough
diamonds to the buyers optimal polished requirements.
What is the benefit?
By eliminating the "batch" style sales process, which is focused
on selling diamonds in assortments and can only ever achieve
"average" prices, Clara sells diamonds individually and achieves
the best possible price for each diamond. Diamonds will be
uploaded for sale as soon as they are recovered from the mine and
processed through the Sarine Galaxy® scanning and Advisor® planning
technology. Batching of rough diamonds for tender, auction, and
site allocation will no longer be necessary, eliminating inventory
carrying costs and smoothing out revenue streams.
Equally transformative for the manufacturers and retailers,
Clara will facilitate diamond sales on a stone by stone basis,
allowing customers to purchase only those rough diamonds that meet
their specific manufacturing requirements, eliminating the need to
re-trade and finance unwanted inventories.
The added benefit of diamond provenance
More than ever, consumers are interested in understanding
diamond source and provenance with assurance that the diamonds have
been recovered and sourced in a socially and environmentally
responsible manner. Clara is integrated with blockchain
technology, so every rough diamond is tracked with a secure and
immutable record of its origins and ownership, providing peace of
mind for consumers.
The way forward
Clara commercialization efforts are well underway and tracking
to schedule and budget. Clara has identified a selection of
industry leading diamond manufacturers and integrated jewelry
houses that have agreed to participate in a trial of the Clara
digital sales platform beginning in the third quarter of
2018. Clara will initiate sales on the platform using
selected diamonds recovered from Lucara's Karowe diamond
mine. More details about this trial will be provided in the
coming weeks. Thereafter, additional diamond producers and
manufacturers will be invited to try Clara.
Eira Thomas
President and Chief Executive Officer
Follow Lucara Diamond on: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and
LinkedIn
ABOUT LUCARA
Lucara is a leading independent producer of large exceptional
quality Type IIa diamonds from its 100% owned Karowe Mine in
Botswana. The Company has an
experienced board and management team with extensive diamond
development and operations expertise. The Company operates
transparently and in accordance with international best practices
in the areas of sustainability, health and safety, environment and
community relations.
ABOUT CLARA
Clara Diamond Solutions (Clara), wholly owned by Lucara Diamond
Corp, is a secure, digital sales platform that uses proprietary
analytics together with cloud and blockchain technologies to
modernize the existing diamond supply chain, driving efficiencies,
unlocking value and ensuring diamond provenance from mine to
finger.
The information in this release is accurate at the time of
distribution but may be superseded or qualified by subsequent news
releases.
The information in this release is subject to the disclosure
requirements of the Company under the EU Market Abuse Regulation.
This information was publicly communicated on August 20, 2018 at 6:00am
Pacific Time.
CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS
Certain of the statements made and contained herein and
elsewhere constitute forward-looking statements as defined in
applicable securities laws. Generally, these forward-looking
statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking
terminology such as "expects", "anticipates", "believes",
"intends", "estimates", "potential", "possible" and similar
expressions, or statements that events, conditions or results
"will", "may", "could" or "should" occur or be achieved.
Forward-looking statements are based on the opinions and
estimates of management as of the date such statements are made,
including in respect of the development and functionality of the
technology related to the Clara platform, the intended benefits and
performance of the Clara platform, and the timing and cost of
commercialization of the Clara platform. These assumptions, opinion
and estimates are subject to a number of known and unknown risks,
uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results,
performance or achievements of the Company to be materially
different from any future results, performance or achievement
expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. The
Company believes that expectations reflected in this
forward-looking information are reasonable but no assurance can be
given that these expectations will prove to be accurate and such
forward-looking information included herein should not be unduly
relied upon.
There can be no assurance that such forward looking statements
will prove to be accurate, as the Company's results and future
events could differ materially from those anticipated in this
forward-looking information as a result of those factors discussed
in or referred to under the heading "Risks and Uncertainties"' in
the Company's most recent Annual Information Form available at
http://www.sedar.com, as well as changes in general business and
economic conditions, changes in interest and foreign currency
rates, the supply and demand for, deliveries of and the level and
volatility of prices of rough and polished diamonds, the cost and
availability of computational resources, and unanticipated
technical and operational difficulties.
Accordingly, readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance
on these forward-looking statements which speak only as of the date
the statements were made, and the Company does not assume any
obligations to update or revise them to reflect new events or
circumstances, except as required by law.
Investor and Public Relations, +1-604-678-5834,
christine.warner@lucaradiamond.com; Sweden: Robert
Eriksson, Investor Relations, +46-701-112615,
reriksson@rive6.ch; UK: Louise
Mason, Citigate Dewe Rogerson,
+44(0)20-7282-2932 Louise.Mason@Citigatedr.co.uk