Canadian miner Lucara stumbles on giant 2,492-carat diamond in Botswana

Canadian miner Lucara unearthed a giant 2,492-carat rough diamond, the world’s second largest after Cullinan diamond, from its Karowe mine in Botswana, southern Africa, the company said.

The diamond is the largest such gem found in more than a century since the discovery in 1905 of the 3,106-carat Cullinan diamond in South Africa.

Botswana is one of the world’s biggest producers of diamonds by value, and some of the biggest finds at Lucara’s Karowe site include the 1,758-carat Sewelo and the 1,109-carat Lesedi La Rona.

The 1,109-carat Lesedi La Rona was found in 2015 and sold to luxury jeweler Graff for $53 million two years later, CNN reported.

The Karowe mine, which has been operational since 2012, is 100% owned by Vancouver, British Columbia-based Lucara.

“We are ecstatic about the recovery of this extraordinary 2,492-carat diamond,” Lucara chief executive officer and president William Lamb said in a press release.

One of the largest ever rough cut diamonds ever unearthed was detected and recovered by Lucara’s mega diamond recovery X-ray transmission technology installed in 2017 to identify and preserve large, high-value diamonds, the company said.

Rough diamonds are often classified as being gem-quality, near-gem or industrial-quality, depending on their color, clarity, size and shape.

The 2,492-carat diamond was presented to Botswana’s President Mokgweetsi Masisi last Thursday

In July, the south African nation proposed a law requesting mining firms, once they are granted licenses, to sell a 24% stake in the mines to local investors unless the government exercises its option to acquire the shareholding, Reuters reported.

The 3,106-carat Cullinan diamond had been found at the Premier mine in Transvaal, now South Africa before being subsequently cut into smaller stones, some of which deck the British royal family’s crown jewels.