Friday, August 23, 2024-The largest diamond found in more than a century has been unearthed at a mine in Botswana.
The country's president showed off the
diamond to the world at a viewing ceremony on Thursday, August 22.
The Botswana government says the huge
2,492-carat stone is the second-biggest ever discovered in a mine. It's the
biggest diamond found since 1905.
The diamond was presented to the
world at the office of Botswana President Mokgweetsi Masisi. It weighs
approximately half a kilogram and Masisi was one of the first to get to hold
it.
Officials said it was too early to
value it or decide how it would be sold. Another smaller diamond from the same
mine in Botswana was sold for $63 million in 2016, a record for a rough gem.
“This is history in the making,” said
Naseem Lahri, the Botswana managing director for Lucara Diamond Corp., the
Canadian mining company that found the diamond. “I am very proud. It is a
product of Botswana.”
Lucara said in a statement Wednesday,
August 21, that it recovered the “exceptional” rough diamond from its Karowe
Mine in central Botswana. Lucara said it was a "high-quality" stone
and was found intact. It was located using X-ray technology designed to find
large diamonds.
“We are ecstatic about the recovery of this
extraordinary 2,492-carat diamond,” Lucara President and CEO William Lamb said
in a statement.
The weight would make it the largest
diamond found in 119 years and the second-largest ever dug out of a mine after
the Cullinan Diamond that was discovered in South Africa in 1905. The famous
Cullinan was 3,106 carats and was cut into gems, some of which form part of the
British Crown Jewels.
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