The AK6 diamond development project in Botswana, owned by the Lucara Diamond Corp, will be in full production by early 2012 and is expected to yield 400,000 carats of high-quality rough diamonds in its first year, the diamond company announced this week.



Execution of the diamond mine project is on target and on budget with commissioning scheduled to start in the fourth quarter of 2011.



William Lamb, President and CEO of Lucara, called the fact that the AK6 project would be in production by year end "an exciting development in the evolution of Lucara as a mid-tier producer of high quality diamonds."



"This year will be a challenging but rewarding one for all involved with the AK6 project," Lamb added.



Botswana is one of the world' major diamond producers. Although its diamond mining and exports suffered when the global financial crisis hit the diamond industry, the sector is showing recovery. Botswana exported $2.36 billion worth of diamonds in the first 10 months of 2010, making the 2010 average monthly value of diamond exports $236.1 million – nearly twice the average monthly export figures for 2009.



In early December 2010, Firestone Diamonds held its first-ever tender for diamonds sourced entirely from Botswana, selling 2,162 carats of diamonds from the BK11 mine at an average per-carat price of $177.