VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwire - Jan. 19, 2011) - Lucara Diamond Corp. ("Lucara" or the "Company") (TSX VENTURE:LUC) announces that subject to regulatory approval, it will carry out a non-brokered private placement of up to an aggregate of 60 million common shares of the Company at a price of $1.00 per share.

A finder's fee of up to 5% in cash may be payable on a portion of the gross proceeds of the private placement.

Net proceeds of the private placement will be used towards the development of Lucara's AK6 diamond mine in Botswana and its Mothae diamond mine in Lesotho as well as for general working capital purposes. The common shares issued pursuant to the private placement will be subject to a 4 month hold period.

Lucara is a well positioned emerging new diamond producer. The Company has an experienced board and management team with years of diamond development expertise. The Company's two key assets are the AK6 diamond mine in Botswana and the Mothae diamond mine in Lesotho. The 100% owned AK6 project is in the construction stage with mine commissioning scheduled to commence in the fourth quarter of 2011. The 75% owned Mothae mine is currently in the trial mining stage. Both Mothae and AK6 are world class assets with tonnage and throughput upside; diamond values from both could significantly increase with the continued recovery of Type IIA and large stones.

On Behalf of the Board,

William Lamb, President and CEO

Forward Looking Statements: This document contains statements about expected or anticipated future events and financial results of Lucara that are forward-looking in nature and are based on Lucara's current expectations, estimates and projections. This forward-looking information is subject to certain risks and uncertainties, such as legal and political risk, civil unrest, general economic, market and business conditions, the regulatory process and actions, technical issues, new legislation, competitive and general economic factors and conditions, the uncertainties resulting from potential delays or changes in plans, the occurrence of unexpected events and management's capacity to execute and implement its future plans. The actual results, activities, performance or achievements of Lucara may differ materially from those projected by management. A discussion of factors that may affect Lucara's actual results, performance, achievements or financial position is contained in the filings by Lucara with the Canadian provincial securities regulatory authorities on the system for electronic document analysis and retrieval ("SEDAR") at www.sedar.com.