The 50-year-old man's case was heard in Perth Magistrate's Court, involving his trading of stocks in Lonrho Mining Limited, which is now called Lucapa Diamond Co Ltd (ASX: LOM).

He was arrested after a collaborative investigation between Australian Federal Police, Australian Securities and Investments Commission, Australian Taxation Office and the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission.

The authorities claim the man became aware in 2012 that Lucapa had discovered a very large diamond in Africa – news that was not yet public.

Using this private knowledge, it's alleged the man bought up shares in the small-cap exploration company on behalf of a family member. 

He is also accused of passing the tip onto a client, who did not act on the advice.

Trading shares with inside knowledge is a serious offence

This all allegedly happened the day before Lucapa shares were placed in a trading halt – and 5 days before the discovery was publicly announced.

The Lucapa share price understandably jumped once the market knew of the news. The shares that the man bought increased by $6,000 in value.

The man faced two charges in court – one of insider trading and another of communicating inside information to a person that could lead to insider trading.

The Motley Fool has contacted Lucapa for comment.

Lucapa shares were up 1.61% on Friday to trade at 6.3 cents at market close.

ASIC this year revealed its intention to scrutinise insider trading offences more closely, offering immunity to those who came forward with information that triggers a new investigation.

The post Man faces 10 years' jail for ASX insider trading appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

The ASX diamond producer has interests in the Lulo diamond mine in Angola and the Mothae diamond mine in Lesotho. This morning, Lucapa announced a resource upgrade for its Lulo mine.

What did Lucapa Diamond report on its Lulo diamond resources?

Lucapa's share price is moving higher in morning trade. This comes after the company reported an increase in the JORC Classified Inferred Alluvial Diamond Resource at its Lulo mine.

Lucapa's partners in Sociedade Mineira Do Lulo (SML) are Empresa Nacional de Diamantes E.P. and Rosas & Petalas.

A new estimate has been conducted by external consultants Z Star Mineral Resource Consultants (Pty) Ltd. According to the estimate, there is a 35% increase in the Lulo diamond resource carats. Additionally, in-situ alluvial resource carats increased to approximately 136,000, up from just over the 100,000-carat resource estimate on 31 December 2019.

The company reported a modelled average diamond value of US$1,440 (AU$1,870) per carat.

The increased resource estimate comes following the exploration program. This program included some 4,800 auger drill holes and a 770-hole pitting program. The increase comes after accounting for mining depletion of approximately 23,600 carats during 2020. The new resource estimate works out to at least 5 years throughput at the current mining rates.

Management commentary

Commenting on the resource upgrade, Lucapa's managing director Stephen Wetherall said:

The increases in the Lulo Diamond Resource over the last few years is a direct result of disciplined investment in the alluvial exploration and delineation programs by SML. The 35% increase in carats to ~136,000 carats is a new record for carats in the Lulo Diamond Resource notwithstanding six years of mining depletion. This year's update too highlights the valuable contribution of the newly delineated leziria areas which have provided a stream of top-quality recoveries.

Lucapa said that, to date, "112,000 carats of diamonds have been recovered and sold at Lulo for a total US$200 million at an average price of US$1,790/ carat". In addition, the company also reported that following a decline during the COVID-19 outbreak, diamond prices have returned to pre-pandemic levels.

Share price snapshot

It's been a bumpy 12 months for Lucapa Diamond shares, currently down 16% since this time last year. By comparison, the All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO) is up 54% in that same time period.

Year-to-date the Lucapa Diamond share price is up 12%.

The post Why the Lucapa Diamond (ASX:LOM) share price leapt on open today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Last week the company discovered the first diamond of over 100 carats at its Lulo alluvial mine in Angola.

Today, Lucapa announced its first 2021 sale of rough diamonds. Lucapa and its partner, the Government of the Kingdom of Lesotho, sold 4.676 carats of rough diamonds for a total of US$5.6 million.

At the time of writing, the Lucapa share price is up 2.78% for the day, trading hands at 7.4 cents per share.

How did the Lucapa share price fare in 2020?

The Lucapa share price had a disappointing 12-month period, diving over 42%. It took a serious tumble from March 2020 to April 2020 falling from .15 cents at the start of March to closing at 0.4 cents by the end of April. That's a roughly 73% crash.

Copping its share of the worldwide business impacts brought on by coronavirus, Lucapa announced on 1 April that a National State of Emergency was declared in the Republic of Angola. The share price dip that ensued didn't lift back up until July and has continued to hike a bumpy trail since then.

Acknowledging this blow to the business, Lucapa Managing Director Stephen Wetherall commented today:

Following a tough 2020, where both of our mines were impacted by the pandemic, our valued teams have shown their resilience and operations have bounced back strongly. The good recoveries at both mines and growing demand leading to strengthening diamond prices has seen a strong start to 2021.

A roaring one-month come back

Although the past year was a tough time for the Lucapa share price, Lucapa shares have now jumped over 23% in the past month.

After announcing the unearthing of the 113-carat white diamond recovered at Lulo last week, the share price popped around 12% in 24-hours and has continued to creep up since.  

What's ahead for Lucapa Diamond in 2021?

Lucapa has secured funding to commission an approximately 45% expansion in the processing capacity of the company's Mothae kimberlite mine. The expansion is scheduled for completion in the first quarter of 2021.

In the November 2020 announcement, Lucapa stated that it expects the expansion to "materially increase production, revenues and due to economies of scale, improve unit operation costs and deliver improvements to earnings."

The Lucapa share price is currently up 2.78% in morning trade.

The post Why the Lucapa Diamond (ASX:LOM) share price is sparkling appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Over the half the miner's flagship Lulo mine contributed diamond sales of US$22.1 million at US$3,668 carat. Lulo has now produced Angola's two biggest recorded diamonds weighing 404 carats and 227 carats. The company co-owns shares in the Lulo and Mothae mines with local investors, which means it effectively only takes a share of sales reported.

Over the second half it's planning on production expansion at the Lulo mine and a focus on higher margin diamond zones at its Lothae mine.

This morning the shares are 3.3% higher at 15.5 cents to give the company a market value of $76.8 million based on 495.9 million shares on issue.

Another junior Africa-focused miner on the local market is AVZ Minerals Ltd (ASX: AVZ).

The post Lucapa Diamond share price up as it boasts of $1.6m profit appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Lucapa also has a diamond mining tenement in the neighbouring west African country of Angola where it reported discovering a 130 carat diamond at its Lulo Diamond Project on May 16.

These kind of reports of mining companies discovering giant diamonds in exotic African locations often attract investors looking to get rich quick on the back of huge profits. However, it's very rare for them to work out that way.

For the quarter ending March 31 2019 Lucapa took in US$2.2 million in revenue to post an operating cash loss of US$2.7 million, with staff and production costs at US$1.4 million and US$2.1 million respectively. It had cash on hand of US$7.09 million as at quarter end.

Looking at the balance sheet and cash flows then I'm not a buyer of Lucapa shares for any number of reasons.

However, I wouldn't be surprised if it's a popular stock with the spec punters of the ASX.

The post The Lucapa Diamond Company share price is climbing after it finds another huge rock appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

In total it sold seven diamonds weighing 498 carats from its Lulo alluvial mine and this brings the total diamonds sold to US$141 million over at an average carat price of US$2,105.

For the quarter ending December 31 2019 Lucapa posted an operating cash profit of US$29,000 thanks to a VAT refund received according to its 4C quarterly report handed to the ASX.

It took in no sales revenues for the quarter and has cash on hand of US$8.2 million, although it appears much of this is down to "proceeds from borrowings".

The group also reports it has diamond mines or expiration projects in Botswana, Lesotho and Australia.

According to Commsec the diamond miner has a market value around $85 million and micro-cap enthusiasts should be sure to go through the cashflow statements and business model carefully prior to considering an investment.

The post Why the Lucapa Diamonds share price is rising today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Three shares at the small end of the market that have not let that hold them back are listed below. Here's why they are on the rise on Monday:

The Australian Mines Limited (ASX: AUZ) share price has continued its strong run and is up a further 10.5% to 5.2 cents. Investors have been fighting to get hold of the cobalt, nickel, and scandium miner's shares since the release of an announcement at the end of last week. That announcement revealed that the company has formed its second major scandium research partnership. According to the release, Australian Mines will collaborate with leading academic researchers at the Amrita Centre for Research and Development in India. The two parties will be focusing on the use of scandium in the next generation metal hydride batteries and hydrogen storage applications.

The Bubs Australia Ltd (ASX: BUB) share price is up almost 4% to 53 cents. The goats milk infant formula company's shares have performed reasonably well since the release of its quarterly update last week. That update revealed record quarterly sales of approximately $9 million, which was a 416% year-on-year increase. However, a good portion of this growth was from sales of CapriLac, which was acquired in the second quarter of FY 2018 and therefore did not feature in the prior corresponding period. Sales of Bubs infant formula products grew 90% on the prior period, albeit from a low base.

The Lucapa Diamond Co Ltd (ASX: LOM) share price has pushed 4.5% higher to 23 cents. This morning the diamonds company announced the discovery of a new alluvial source of large and premium-value diamonds at the Lulo diamond project in Angola. The company has been exploring the extensive flood plains along the ~50km stretch of Cacuilo River valley within the Lulo diamond concession in order to determine whether these areas also host exceptional alluvial diamonds. The early results have been positive with 17 regular Specials being recovered. The term Specials indicate diamonds greater than 10.8 carats. Management believes the results demonstrate the potential to open additional and expansive new mining areas at Lulo.

The post These small cap ASX shares are on the rise on Monday appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Three small cap shares that are performing particularly well today are listed below. Here's why they are on the rise today:

The Lucapa Diamond Co Ltd (ASX: LOM) share price has risen 4% to 25 cents after the diamond producer provided an update on its Lulo and Mothae diamonds. According to the release, select large premium-value Lulo diamonds are to be the first Lulo production sold through new marketing channels being introduced as part of Angola's diamond sector reforms. Management appears confident that these diamonds will fetch a good price and boost its revenue.

The Opthea Ltd (ASX: OPT) share price has jumped almost 8% to 63 cents after the biologics drug developer announced that new clinical data analysis from its completed Phase 1/2a trial of intravitreally injected OPT-302 with and without Lucentis for the treatment of wet AMD was presented at the Retina Society 2018 Annual meeting in San Francisco. The additional study data included the pharmacokinetic profile of OPT-302, proportion of wet AMD subjects gaining vision, and the need for anti-VEGF-A rescue therapy. As you might have guessed from the share price reaction, the new data was positive and demonstrated the potential of Opthea's OPT-302 product.

The Silver Lake Resources Limited (ASX: SLR) share price is up 2% to 50 cents after the gold miner released drilling results from its Daisy Complex site at the Mount Monger goldfield in Western Australia. According to the release, diamond drilling results from the Daisy Complex continue to deliver outstanding intersections in multiple directions, with strong continuity and high-grades at established underground mining widths. Management believes that these results highlight significant upside opportunities at the site.

The post These 3 small cap ASX shares are on the rise on Friday appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

A report in The Australian this week detailed the unique operation – located 220km south of the Arctic Circle and renowned for the discovery of a 187.7 carat diamond back in 2016.

According to the article, Rio owns 60% of the Diavik mine, and is a force to be reckoned with in the global diamond market with its 100%-owned pink diamond Argyle mine in Western Australia's Kimberley region.

While commodity brother BHP Billiton Limited (ASX: BHP) is well-known for its iron ore and copper production, BHP has no interest in diamonds, so could this investment be what sets RIO apart from its peers in the future?

On the topic of diamonds it would be remiss not to mention virtually-unknown small cap diamond producer Lucapa Diamond Co Ltd (ASX: LOM) who discovered a 400-carat diamond back in 2016 which saw its share price storm higher at the time.

The post Revealed: The jewel in Rio Tinto Limited's (ASX:RIO) crown appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Four shares that are currently in trading halts are listed below. Here's why they are out of action at the moment:

Atlas Iron Limited (ASX: AGO)

This iron ore producer's shares went into a trading halt yesterday pending an announcement by the company in relation to media speculation. The speculation is that Mineral Resources Limited (ASX: MIN), also in a trading halt, is interested in acquiring Atlas Iron after missing out on AWE Limited (ASX: AWE). Given the low quality of Atlas Iron's produce and the preference for high grade ore, I'm a little surprised that Mineral Resources would be interested in it. Management may be expecting a change in market dynamics in the near future.

Lucapa Diamond Co Ltd (ASX: LOM)

This diamond producer requested a trading halt pending the announcement of a significant funding package to advance its diamond projects, including an extensive follow-up drilling and exploration program at its Brooking diamond discovery site. According to The Australian, Lucapa aims to raise $15 million in order to crank up exploration activities to see if Brooking can emerge as Australia's next great diamond discovery. This is great timing for the company given that rival Argyle Diamonds, Australia's biggest diamond mine and the source of rare and prized fancy pink gems, is nearing the end of its mine life. That mine currently supplies an estimated 10% of the world's diamonds.

Wattle Health Australia Ltd (ASX: WHA)

This fledgling infant formula and baby food company's shares have been suspended from quotation at the request of the company pending the release of an announcement regarding the finalisation of a joint venture with Organic Dairy Farmers of Australia and a potential capital raise. As this is expected to take some time to sort out, the company has skipped the trading halt and gone straight into a suspension which affords it more time. Wattle Health's shares are expected to be offline until April 20. This morning Wattle Health reported gross sales for the March 2018 quarter of $804,379. Its market capitalisation stands at a lofty $330 million at the time of writing.

The post Why these 4 ASX shares are in trading halts appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

These 4 companies saw their share prices shot down for varying reasons…

OceanaGold Corporation (ASX: OGC) shares plunged more than 10% to $3.89, after the gold miner's Philippines gold mine was listed as one facing potential suspension after apparently failing an environmental audit, as we explained earlier today. That's one threat facing miners operating in countries such as the Philippines, as fellow gold miner Kingsgate Consolidated (ASX: KCN) has found out in Thailand. For companies with one mine, that can be the end.

Galaxy Resources Limited (ASX: GXY) fell 7.8% to $0.295, perhaps after investors had time to analyse broker Baillieu Holst's recent research note on the lithium miner. Mt Caitlin was meant to begin producing lithium concentrate earlier this year, but is now only expected to start operations in December 2016 and the broker thinks the company has a cash flow problem. Still, if the broker's forecasts are right, the share price looks very cheap.

iCar Asia Ltd (ASX: ICQ) saw its share price drop 3.3% to $0.295. The automotive classifieds company is attempting to do something similar to what Carsales.com Ltd (ASX: CAR) has done in Australia, in several Asian countries. Unfortunately, iCar Asia appears to be struggling to gain traction, and the company was forced to raise $23 million in cash earlier this month. Those shares are already underwater – being issued at 32 cents a share – so perhaps some investors are selling out to limit the risk of further losses.

Lucapa Diamond Co Ltd (ASX: LOM) fell 5.4% to 43.5 cents, most likely as traders takes some profits after the diamond miner's strong recent run. As we noted earlier this week, a string of huge diamond discoveries has propelled the share price higher this year, which should also see the company report its maiden full year profit early next year. However, we did warn investors that operating in third-world countries is a highly risky proposition (ask Kingsgate and OceanaGold).

The post 4 stocks sinking on the ASX today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Not that these four companies care, with their share prices jumping more than 9%…

Syntonic Ltd (ASX: SYT) saw its share price jump 12.8% to 5.3 cents. The company's share price is up more than 80% in the past month, after announcing an agreement with Verizon Wireless in the US to enable its Freeway product on Verizon's FreeBee Perks platform. Freeway gives consumers sponsored access to applications and content – currently only on Android phones, but an iOS version is in the works.

Alkane Resources Limited (ASX: ALK) saw its share price rise 9.1% to 48 cents, despite the spot gold price going nowhere overnight. Alkane produces gold from its Tomingley gold operation in NSW, but is also developing its Dubbo Zirconia project. The company recently reported all-in sustaining costs for the 2016 financial year of $1,256 an ounce, which is comparatively high to other Australian producers, although still allowing the company to produce a net profit of $4.7 million.

Lucapa Diamond Co Ltd (ASX: LOM) has added another 12.2% to 46 cents, following a strong run this month. The diamond miner has made a number of significant announcements including the discovery of two huge diamonds of over 100 carats in the past two weeks. Lucapa is the operator and 40% owner of the Lulo diamond mine in Angola, Africa.

Western Areas Ltd (ASX: WSA) saw its share price gain 10.9% to $3.16. The nickel miner's shares are up 40% so far this year including more than 20% so far in September, despite it being on the top 10 most shorted stocks list. But a recovery in nickel prices appears likely due to supply disruptions including an environmental audit in the Philippines and increased steel output this year, which could boost Western Area's revenues and earnings.

The post 4 shares jumping on the ASX today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

The diamond producer has had a string of amazing discoveries in the past few weeks, including a 172.67 carat diamond announced today. The diamond was found at the company's Lulo diamond project in Angola, Africa.

The Lulo project is a joint venture between Lucapa, Endiama (Angolan Government) and Rosas & Pétalas – a private partner. Lucapa holds 40% of the alluvial diamond mining operations and is the operator. Endiama holds 32% with Rosas & Pétalas holding the remaining 28%.

That follows on from some spectacular discoveries, including five diamonds of over 100 carats in 2016. Here are some of the diamonds recovered.

• September 21 – 104 carat diamond
• September 8 – 38.6 carat pink diamond, the largest fancy coloured diamond recovered at Lulo
• April 26 – 2 diamonds of 88 carats and another of 30 carats
• March 29 – 68.1 carat diamond
• February 4 – 404 carat diamond, the biggest recorded diamond ever found in Angola and the 27th biggest recorded diamond in the world according to Wikipedia. The diamond sold for $22.5 million (US$16 million) two weeks later.
• February 3 – 120 carat diamond and one of 86.2 carats
• January 22 – 133 carat diamond, 29 carat diamond and an 11 carat diamond. Large special diamonds weighing 95.5 carats, 53.2 carats, 32.2 carats, 24.5 carats, 13.7 carats and 10.9 carats.

The sale of those diamonds should go a long way to improving on the company's maiden half-year net profit of US$3.25 million for the six months to end of June 2016. That came on the back of revenues of close to US$6 million.

Readers may be wondering about the discrepancy between the sale of the 404 carat diamond for US$16 million and Lucapa's revenues of $6 million. Firstly, as stated earlier, Lucapa only holds 40% of the Lulo diamond mine and is therefore entitled to 40% of revenues. The company also has to pay withholding tax on top of that, as a result, virtually all of the company's revenues came from the special distribution made from the sale of the 404 carat diamond – of US$5.9 million.

Foolish takeaway

As exciting as the discoveries have been, Lucapa is still a highly speculative miner, and it will need to continue discovering large diamonds or ramp up its operations significantly to maintain profitability. The former requires a certain amount of luck while the latter requires substantial investment.

Neither has convinced me that shares are a bargain at current prices, particularly with Angola ranked 163 out of 167 for corruption by Transparency International. That's about as high risk as you can get.

I'll be wishing the company good luck from the sidelines.

The post Why the Lucapa Diamond Co Ltd share price is up 27% this month appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

It's the biggest diamond ever discovered in Angola, Africa at 404 carats and the fourth 100+ carat diamond recovered from Lucapa's Lulo mine since officially opening in August 2015.

Lulo has already produced more than 60 large special diamonds (single diamonds weighing more than 10.8 carats) with mining operations beginning in January 2015. Underlining the quality and size of the diamonds, is the fact that the average price the company has received so far for its diamonds is A$1,910 per carat compared to the global average of roughly A$168 per carat.

Lucapa has a 40% interest in the Lulo project in partnership with the Angolan government's diamond concessionary Endiama and private group Rosas & Petalas.

Endiama chairman Antonio Carlos Sumbula said, "We are delighted to have recovered the biggest diamond ever found in Angola – it is a significant day for our country, our diamond industry and for the Lulo Diamond Project. The Lulo diamond field is an example of what we would like to showcase to the world to encourage international investment in Angola's diamond mining industry."

Lucapa CEO Stephen Wetherall added, "We have always emphasised the very special nature of the Lulo diamond field and this recovery – together with the other 100 carat-plus diamonds recovered this year alone – is further evidence of that."

Lucapa operates the Lulo mine and says its exploration program is progressing to find the kimberlite source of these diamonds. Diamonds are often found within kimberlite formations, and Lucapa is essentially finding loose diamonds while it searches for the kimberlite.

Foolish takeaway

One diamond (or several) does not a profitable miner make – just yet. And whether shareholders will see a return on their investment is also up for question. As such, Lucapa is a speculative investment, and should represent a very small portion of a well-diversified portfolio (if at all).

The post Why the Lucapa Diamond share price has rocketed up 31% today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

As would be expected, the list of shares reaching new 52-week highs is slim and unsurprisingly dominated by gold miners.

While it would be tempting to buy gold companies right now following the recent surge in the gold price, investors need to remember gold miners have no control of where the gold price will be next week, let alone in a couple of years from now.

Gold companies could continue to surge higher if global markets remain volatile, but investors in the sector are more likely to be speculating and hedging their positions for the short term rather than investing for the long term.

For investors looking for longer-term growth options, there have been a number of shares that have performed surprisingly well and generally been spared from the brutal sell-off.

One of these stocks is IDP Education Pty Ltd (ASX: IEL). IDP Education operates in the growing international and domestic education sector and focuses on student recruitment and English language testing and teaching.

50% of the company was previously owned by SEEK Limited (ASX: SEK), before it floated its share of the business back in November 2015. The remaining 50% of the company is still owned by 38 Australian universities through a group known as Education Australia Limited.

Investors have shown a great level of interest in the stock with the share price increasing by more than 21% since the start of 2016. Only last week, IDP Education released its maiden earnings result as a public company and the numbers did not disappoint.

The company delivered record half year revenue and earnings with double-digit revenue growth in each of the company's core product categories. Total revenue grew by 24.6% to $181.6 million and net profit after tax (NPAT) increased by 23.2% to $20.3 million. Operating cash flows were strong and the balance sheet remains robust with only $7 million in debt outstanding.

Pleasingly for shareholders, IDP Education re-affirmed its full year forecasts and remains on track to deliver NPAT of $35.5 million for FY16.

Following the recent surge in the share price however, the shares are now trading on a forecast FY16 price-to-earnings multiple of around 29. Accordingly, the shares appear fully valued in the short term, but the strong underlying fundamentals of the education sector means the long-term outlook remains very positive for IDP Education in my opinion.

Another company that has performed remarkably well has been Catapult Group International Ltd (ASX: CAT). Shares of the global sports analytics company have surged more than 250% over the past 12 months and have been largely unaffected by the recent market sell-off.

Catapult provides hardware and software technology such as GPS tracking for sporting teams to help track and improve athletic performance. Some of its key customers already include teams from the AFL, NRL, NFL, NBA and English Premier League.

The company recently reported a record quarterly sales result that revealed a 66% increase in unit sales compared to the prior corresponding period. Recurring subscription volumes were also 15% higher.

In addition to this, Catapult has recently signed new league-wide agreements with the Australian Rugby Union (ARU) for four years and with the AFL for five years. This means all of the teams in these competitions will now be using Catapult's technology and products to track athlete performance.

Investors interested in investing in Catapult, however, need to take into account the company is still in its early growth phase and is not yet profitable.  Net operating cash flows are still negative and in November Catapult conducted a $6 million capital raising to institutional investors. This remains a key risk for investors as there is the possibility of further capital raisings as the company is sitting on a cash balance of just $8.3 million.

Despite this, there remains a huge untapped market for Catapult and it continues to sign new contracts all around the sporting world. This is a stock that should definitely be on the watch list of every growth investor as it could be a long-term winner.

The post Can these 2 growth shares continue higher in 2016? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.