Lucara DiamondCorp. said July 19 that it will pay a special dividend of 45Canadian cents per share to common shareholders in addition to the 1.5 Canadiancents per share quarterly progressive dividend for 2016.

The total payout will amount to C$172 million, to be paidSept. 15 to shareholders on record as of Sept. 2.

Lucara President and CEO William Lamb said the diamonds mine inBotswana continues to recover high quality stones, helping continued growth inthe company's cash balance.

"Following this dividend payment, we will continue tomaintain a strong balance sheet and continue to seek value accretiveopportunities, which [include] advancing our exploration and drilling programto increase the company's resources," Lamb was quoted as saying in therelease.

In 2015, Lucara introduced a policy for 2016,aimed at maintaining or increasing the Canadian dollar dividend per share eachyear.

The annual dividend was expected to reach 6 Canadian centsper share, to be paid in four equal payments at the end of each financialquarter.