Botswana’s President Mokgweetsi Masisi holds a big diamond found in Botswana at his workplace in Gaborone on August 22, 2024.
Monirul Bhuiyan | Afp | Getty Photographs
One of many largest diamonds ever to be excavated was present in Botswana at a mine owned by Canadian agency Lucara Diamond.
The two,492-carat diamond is the world’s second-largest discovery and comes greater than a century after a 3,106-carat gem was present in South Africa in 1905. That stone, generally known as the Cullinan Diamond, was lower into 9 massive items, a lot of which have been integrated into the British Crown Jewels.
Lucara stated on Wednesday that the gem was found on the Karowe Diamond Mine in northeastern Botswana utilizing X-ray know-how. The mining firm didn’t present a worth for the “high-quality” stone.
“We’re ecstatic in regards to the restoration of this extraordinary 2,492 carat diamond,” William Lamb, president and CEO of Lucara, stated in a press release.
“This discover not solely showcases the exceptional potential of our Karowe Mine, but additionally upholds our strategic funding in cutting-edge [X-ray Transmission] know-how,” he added.
Images printed on Getty Photographs on Thursday confirmed Botswana President Mokgweetsi Masisi holding the two,492-carat diamond at his workplace within the capital of Gaborone.
Botswana is likely one of the world’s greatest diamond producers, accounting for 20% of world manufacturing final yr, based on GlobalData.
Botswana’s President Mokgweetsi Masisi holds a big diamond found in Botswana at his workplace in Gaborone on August 22, 2024. The 2492 carat diamond was found within the Karowe mine in Botswana of Lucara Diamond Firm. Botswana is likely one of the world’s largest producers of diamonds, which represent its principal supply of earnings, representing 30% of GDP and 80% of its exports.
Monirul Bhuiyan | Afp | Getty Photographs
Lucara stated the invention adopted different important finds from the identical Karowe Diamond Mine, together with the 1,758-carat Sewelô diamond in 2019 and the 1,109-carat Lesedi La Rona diamond in 2015.
French vogue model Louis Vuitton purchased the Sewelô diamond for an undisclosed sum in 2020, whereas the Lesedi La Rona diamond bought for $53 million to British multinational jeweler Graff Diamonds in 2017.