A massive 2,492-carat diamond, the second-largest ever found, has been unearthed at a mine in Botswana.
The mine, situated in Karowe, owned by the Canadian company Lucara Diamond, made the remarkable discovery.
This find is the largest since the famous 3,106-carat Cullinan diamond in South Africa in 1905.
The Cullinan diamond was later cut into nine stones, some of which are in the British Crown Jewels.
This new discovery also surpasses Botswana’s previous record, a 1,758-carat diamond found at the same mine in 2019.
Lucara Diamond CEO William Lamb announced that the company was “ecstatic about the recovery of this extraordinary 2,492-carat diamond.”
According to Lamb, Lucara’s Mega Diamond Recovery X-ray technology, which was implemented in 2017 to find and protect valuable diamonds while ore was being crushed, was what allowed for the finding.
While Lucara has not disclosed the diamond’s gem quality or potential value, past discoveries at the Karowe mine might offer a hint. A 1,109-carat diamond found in 2016 was purchased for $53 million by Graff Diamonds in 2017, and the 2019 1,758-carat stone was acquired by Louis Vuitton for an undisclosed sum.
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