- The diamond is the biggest found in more than 100 years
- Botswana produces about 20% of the world’s diamonds
- The diamond could be worth about $40 million
Diamonds remain one of the most sought-after precious stones in the world, so imagine the excitement at the Karowe mine in Bostwana when the second-biggest diamond ever found was unearthed.
Record breaker
The diamond, found at a mine owned by Canadian company Lucara Diamond, is a rough 2,4592-carat stone.
The stone beats the previous record for a diamond found in Botswana by some distance. The previous record was a 1,758-carat stone, which was also found at the Karowe mine, back in 2019.
However, it is still some way short of the record size of a diamond. That belongs to the Cullinan diamond, which was found in South Africa in 1905. That diamond ended up being cut into nine pieces, some of which ended up in the British Crown Jewels.
Lucara Diamond says the diamond was found and recovered by its Mega Diamond Recovery X-ray Transmission technology.
Ecstatic
“We are ecstatic about the recovery of this extraordinary 2,492 carat diamond,” said William Lamb, president and CEO of Lucara. “This discovery reinforces Karowe’s position as a truly world-class diamond mine.”
The find also reinforces Botswana’s position as a global leader in diamond production. The country now accounts for about 20% of diamond production in the world.
The value of the diamond hasn’t been given by Lucara, but the Financial Times reported sources close to the company that said it could be worth $40 million.
