A Canadian mining company has announced that it has found a massive 2,492-carat diamond in Botswana, the second-largest diamond in the world.
The diamond was found using X-ray detection technology in the Karowe diamond mine in northeastern Botswana, according to a statement from Lucara Diamond.
The company did not estimate the find’s value, but it is second only in carats to the 3,106-carat Cullinan Diamond discovered in South Africa in 1905.
“We are ecstatic about the recovery of this extraordinary 2,492-carat diamond,” Lucara president William Lamb said in the statement.
This find was “one of the largest rough diamonds ever unearthed” and detected using the company’s Mega Diamond Recovery X-ray technology installed in 2017 to identify and preserve large, high-value diamonds, the statement said.
The translucent stone, the size of a palm, was delivered to President Mokgweetsi Masisi at his office later on Thursday by Naseem Lahri, the managing director of Lucara Botswana.
“I’m told this is the largest diamond to be discovered in Botswana to date and the second in the world,” Masisi said, congratulating the company on the find. “This is precious.”
According to data from the International Monetary Fund, Botswana is one of the biggest producers of diamonds in the world, which are its primary source of income and account for 30% of its GDP and 80% of its exports.
Approximately 2.5 million people live in this arid and poorly populated nation, which was impoverished in 1966 when it gained independence from Britain.
A year after diamonds were found, the IMF claims that the nation is currently the world’s top producer of diamonds by value.
Lucara asserts that a royalty equal to 10% of the total sales value of diamonds produced in Karowe will be paid to the government, regardless of whether the diamond is sold polished or raw.
“With a diamond of this magnitude, I can see roads being built,” said Masisi, as he posed for pictures with the huge stone.
“This discovery is largely thanks to newer technology that allows larger diamonds to be extracted from the ground without breaking into pieces. So we will likely see more where this came from,” he said.
The largest diamond found in Botswana before its announcement on Thursday was a 1,758-carat stone called Sewelo that Lucara had mined at the Karowe mine in 2019.
Using the same X-ray equipment, Lucara discovered a 1,174-carat diamond in Botswana in 2021. Since the mine’s 2012 start of operations, 216 diamonds have been sold for more than $1 million apiece, and more than 11 single stones have been sold for more than $10 million each.
The mining sector in Botswana is still one of the most important in the world, particularly for diamonds, of which the country is the world’s top producer in terms of value. This industry’s performance is dependent on worldwide demand, which is why the COVID-19 epidemic severely hurt it.
Long-term trends have indicated a drop in mineral revenues, primarily because of higher expenses, particularly in the diamond business. This is despite the fact that this sector accounts for around one third of total sales and roughly 80% of foreign exchange earnings.
