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A colossal 2,492-carat rough diamond has been unearthed in Botswana, marking what is believed to be the second-largest rough diamond ever discovered. The discovery was announced by Canadian mining company Lucara Diamond Corp., which found the exceptional gem at its Karowe mine.
The newly discovered diamond is said to be the most significant find since the 3,106-carat Cullinan Diamond was unearthed in South Africa in 1905. Lucara Diamond Corp. has celebrated this remarkable find as “one of the largest rough diamonds ever unearthed.”
The massive stone was detected, unearthed, and recovered using Lucara’s state-of-the-art Mega Diamond Recovery (MDR) X-ray Transmission (XRT) technology, designed to identify and preserve large, high-value diamonds. In a press release, William Lamb, President and CEO of Lucara, expressed his excitement, stating, “We are ecstatic about the recovery of this extraordinary 2,492-carat diamond.”
Before this discovery, the second-largest diamond was thought to be the 1,109-carat Lesedi La Rona, also found at the Karowe mine by Lucara in 2015. That diamond was later sold to luxury jeweler Graff for $53 million.
Lucara’s spokeswoman revealed that the company has now found six of the top 10 diamonds ever discovered. The newly unearthed diamond will undergo a thorough evaluation over the coming weeks to determine its value and potential market impact.
The diamond is scheduled to be presented to Botswana’s President, Mokgweetsi Masisi, on Thursday. This discovery comes as Botswana, the world’s leading diamond producer by value, is considering legislation that would require mining companies to sell a 24% stake in their operations to local investors unless the government opts to acquire the share.
The Cullinan Diamond, which still holds the record for the largest diamond ever found, was discovered at the Premier mine in Transvaal, now part of South Africa, in 1905. It was later cut into smaller stones.
