August was unforgettable for the mining community as record-breaking resources were discovered. During its weeks, a massive 2,492-carat rough diamond, believed to be the second biggest ever found, was unearthed in Botswana.
The stone, a colossal work of wonder, is allegedly the most significant find since the 3,106-carat Cullinan Diamond was discovered in South Africa in 1905.
The 2,492-carat Diamond Is “One of the Largest Rough Diamonds Ever Unearthed”
Canadian mining company Lucara Diamond Corp. reported that the 2492-carat diamond was found intact in the Karowe mine. The company has tagged the find “remarkable” and celebrated it as “one of the largest rough diamonds ever unearthed.”
They might have missed it if they had not used advanced mining tools, such as the company’s Mega Diamond Recovery (MDR) X-ray Transmission (XRT) technology, which was installed years ago.
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The machine was reportedly designed to “identify and preserve large, high-value diamonds,” and it did just that. In the release, William Lamb, president and CEO of Lucara, said, “We are ecstatic about the recovery of this extraordinary 2,492-carat diamond.”
Before this latest find, the second most significant discovery was a role affixed to the Lesedi La Rona, a 1,109-carat stone also found by Lucara at the Karowe mine in 2015. Two years later, the diamond was sold to luxury jeweler Graff for $53 million.
According to Lucara’s spokeswoman, this is the sixth time the company has found a top-ten diamond.
The Botswana Diamond Does Not Have a Price Yet
Rough diamonds can be classified as gem-quality, near-gem, or industrial-quality. Their color, clarity, size, and shape determine which category they fall in. No price point has been set for the 2492-carat diamond.
However, experts estimate it will cost more than $60 million since a significantly smaller diamond found in the same Botswana mine was sold in 2016 for an unprecedented $63 million.
“This is history in the making,” Naseem Lahri, Botswana’s managing director for Lucara Diamond Corp., said. “I am very proud. It is a product of Botswana.”
Senior government officials, including the president, also got the chance to see the diamond. During the experience, Botswana’s President Mokgweetsi Masisi couldn’t help but utter a shocked “Wow.”
The Discovery Comes About 119 Years After the Cullinan Was Found
This latest find by the Lucara mining company has become the second-largest intact diamond. Its discovery comes 119 years after the largest diamond ever unearthed, the Cullinan, was found.
It broke records, valued at 3,106 carats. Reports claim it was found in 1905 at the Premier mine in Transvaal, now South Africa. After its discovery, it was cut into smaller stones, some of which were used to make the British royal family’s crown jewels.
The 2492-carat diamond and the Cullinan are great marvels because they are the culmination of years of minute earth movements.
Diamonds are formed when carbon atoms are squeezed together under high-pressure deep underground. This is slow work. According to scientists, most diamonds are at least a billion years old, and some are over 3 billion years old.
What Fate Awaits the 2,492-Carat Diamond?
It is still too early to say where the 2492-carat diamond will end up but experts expect its fate to be similar to the Cullinan. The stone has been properly evaluated in the past couple of weeks, but anything could follow.
Last month, Botswana, the world’s biggest diamond producer by value, proposed a law requiring mining companies to be granted licenses to sell a 24% stake in mines to local investors. The rule will only stand if the government exercises its right to acquire the shareholding.
It is a great innovation that will enrich the areas where the mining happens and the country as a whole. However, the law is still in its early stages.
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