Lucara Diamond, a Canadian mining company, has announced the discovery of a massive diamond weighing 2,492 carats, the second-largest ever found on earth.
The extraordinary gemstone was unearthed at Lucara’s Karowe Diamond Mine in Botswana, southern Africa.
The company’s advanced Mega Diamond Recovery X-ray Transmission (XRT) technology, utilised since 2017, detected and recovered the diamond, enabling the preservation of this exceptional find, Reuters reports.
“We are ecstatic about the recovery of this extraordinary 2,492 carat diamond. This find not only showcases the remarkable potential of our Karowe Mine, but also upholds our strategic investment in cutting-edge XRT technology.
“The ability to recover such a massive, high-quality stone intact demonstrates the effectiveness of our approach to diamond recovery,” Lucara President and CEO William Lamb said in a statement.
Lucara is the same company that unearthed the 1,758-carat Sewelo diamond in 2019 and the 1,109-carat Lesedi La Rona in 2015. The significant discovery was made at the same mine.
However, the record for the largest diamond ever mined remains held by the 3,106-carat Cullinan Diamond, discovered in 1902 in South Africa.
The Cullinan Diamond was later cut into over 100 stones, including the 530.5-carat Cullinan I, the world’s largest clear-cut diamond, which is now mounted on the Sceptre with the Cross of the Crown Jewels of England.
Notably, Lucara has discovered six of the top 10 largest diamonds ever found, solidifying its position as a leading diamond mining company.
The stone will be properly evaluated over the coming weeks, the spokeswoman added in the statement published on the company’s website.
The diamond is due to be presented to Botswana’s President Mokgweetsi Masisi on Thursday, according to Reuters.
Botswana, the world’s leading diamond producer by value, has introduced a proposed legislation that would require mining companies to offer a 24% stake in their operations to local investors upon obtaining licenses.
However, the government reserves the right to purchase this shareholding instead, if it chooses to exercise this option.