Botswana’s Remarkable Diamond Discovery

Botswana has announced the discovery of one of the largest diamonds ever unearthed at one of its mines. The diamond will be displayed to the public on Thursday.

The Botswana government believes that the enormous 2,492-carat stone is the second-largest ever extracted from a mine.

Canadian mining company Lucara Diamond Corp. stated on Wednesday that it recovered the “exceptional” rough diamond from its Karowe Mine in Botswana. Lucara described it as a “high-quality” stone that was found intact, located using X-ray technology.

“We are ecstatic about the recovery of this extraordinary 2,492-carat diamond,” said Lucara president and CEO William Lamb in a statement.

The weight would make it the largest diamond discovered in over 100 years and the second-largest ever excavated from a mine, following the Cullinan Diamond discovered in South Africa in 1905. The Cullinan weighed 3,106 carats and was cut into gems, some of which are part of the British Crown Jewels.

Comparison to the Cullinan Diamond

A larger black diamond was discovered in Brazil in the late 1800s, but it was found above ground and is believed to have been part of a meteorite.

The newly discovered diamond will be presented to the world at the office of Botswana’s President Mokgweetsi Masisi, according to the Botswanan government. Masisi will be among the first to view it.

Botswana President to Unveil Newly Discovered Diamond

The government has indicated that this is the largest diamond found in the southern African country, which is the second-largest producer of diamonds and has unearthed all of the world’s biggest stones in recent years. The Karowe Mine has previously produced four diamonds over 1,000 carats.

Prior to this discovery, the Sewelo diamond, found at the Karowe Mine in 2019, was recognised as the second-largest mined diamond in the world at 1,758 carats. It was purchased by French fashion house Louis Vuitton for an undisclosed amount.

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.

Scientists assert that natural diamonds are at least a billion years old, with some being over 3 billion years old.