Video above: Botswana President Mokgweetsi Masisi comments on the diamond discovery.
A Canadian mining company announced last week that it had recovered the largest diamond in more than a century.
Lucara Diamond Corp. Creation Confirmed the “exceptional” discovery of a 2,492-carat diamond at the Karowe diamond mine in Botswana on Wednesday.
Lucara described the jewel as “one of the largest rough diamonds ever discovered.”
This is not the first time that a large diamond has been discovered in the Karowe mine. According to Lucara officials, a 1,758-carat diamond and another 1,109-carat diamond were also discovered in the same area.
The company used its Mega Diamond Recovery X-ray transmission technology, which was deployed in 2017 with the aim of identifying and preserving large, high-value diamonds, to detect and recover the gemstone.
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Lucara Diamond Corp. has confirmed the “exceptional” discovery of a 2,492-carat diamond at the Karowe Diamond Mine in Botswana on Wednesday, August 21, 2024. (Lucara Diamond Corp.)
“This discovery not only demonstrates the extraordinary potential of our Karowe mine, but also confirms our strategic investment in cutting-edge XRT technology,” said William Lamb, Lucara’s president and CEO, in a press release.
Botswana President Mokgweetsi Masisi posted a video on his official Facebook page on Thursday in which he is seen gazing at the massive diamond.
“[This shows] “Mining is very important to Botswana… it means everything to us,” President Masisi said. “Very well done, really, it’s magnificent.”
Authorities said it was too early to value the stone or decide how it would be sold. The Associated Press reported.
The largest diamond ever recovered weighs 3,106 carats. Cullinan Diamondwhich was discovered in present-day South Africa in 1905. Most of it is part of the Crown Jewels of the United Kingdom.
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