Lucara Diamond Corp. ("Lucara" or the "Company") 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.

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 JourneyTM 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.