Gaborone: A giant 2,492-carat diamond has been discovered in the African country of Botswana by a Canadian mining company, which is the largest diamond found in over 100 years and second-biggest overall. The diamond was unearthed at none of Lucara Diamond Corporation's mines in Botswana and was put on show on Thursday.
The diamond was found at Karowe mine, about 500 km north of Botswana's capital, Gaborone, BBC reported. Botswana's government said it was the largest diamond ever discovered in the southern African state, besting a 2019 discovery of a 1,758-carat stone located at the same mine. It was bought by French fashion house Louis Vuitton for an undisclosed amount.
"We are ecstatic about the recovery of this extraordinary 2,492 carat diamond," said Lucara head William Lamb. This is the second-largest diamond in the world after the Cullinan Diamond discovered in South Africa in 1905. The Cullinan was 3,106 carats and was cut into gems, some of which form part of the British Crown Jewels.
"This find not only showcases the remarkable potential of our Karowe Mine, but also upholds our strategic investment in cutting-edge XRT technology. The ability to recover such a massive, high-quality stone intact demonstrates the effectiveness of our approach to diamond recovery and our commitment to maximizing value for our shareholders and stakeholders," Lambed added in a statement.
The diamond was detected with the use of Lucara's Mega Diamond Recovery X-ray technology, said Lamb. It has been used since 2017 to detect and preserve high-value diamonds so that they do not break during ore-crushing processes, according to the Miningmx publication.
Notably, Botswana is the second biggest producer of diamonds and has unearthed all of the world's biggest stones in recent years. prior to the 2019 discovery, the 1,111-carat Lesedi La Rona diamond, also from Botswana's Karowe Mine, was bought by a British jeweller for $53 million in 2017.
A bigger black diamond was discovered in Brazil in the late 1800s, but it was found on the surface and was believed to have been part of a meteorite. Botswana's government has proposed a law that will ask companies, once granted a license to mine, to sell a 24 per cent stake to local firms if the government does not exercise its option of becoming a shareholder.
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