Huge 2,492-carat diamond, believed to be world’s second-largest, found in Botswana
(CNN) — A massive 2,492-carat rough diamond, believed to be the second biggest ever found, has been unearthed in Botswana, according to a mining company.
The huge stone is thought to be the biggest found since the 3,106-carat Cullinan Diamond was discovered in South Africa in 1905.
Canadian mining company Lucara Diamond Corp. announced Thursday that the “exceptional” gem was found intact in its Karowe mine.
Calling it a “remarkable” find, the company celebrated it as “one of the largest rough diamonds ever unearthed.”
It was detected, unearthed and recovered thanks to the company’s Mega Diamond Recovery (MDR) X-ray Transmission (XRT) technology, which is designed to “identify and preserve large, high-value diamonds,” the company said in a press release.
William Lamb, president and CEO of Lucara, said in the release: “We are ecstatic about the recovery of this extraordinary 2,492 carat diamond.”
Rough diamonds are usually classified as being gem-quality, near-gem or industrial-quality, depending on their color, clarity, size and shape.
Prior to the latest announcement, the second largest discovery was thought to be the Lesedi La Rona, a 1,109-carat stone also found by Lucara at the Karowe mine in 2015. The diamond was sold to luxury jeweler Graff for $53 million two years later.
Lucara’s spokeswoman said the company had found found six of the top 10 diamonds ever discovered.
The stone will be properly evaluated over the coming weeks, the spokeswoman added.
The diamond is due to be presented to Botswana’s President Mokgweetsi Masisi on Thursday, according to Reuters.
Last month, Botswana, the world’s biggest diamond producer by value, proposed a law to request that, once they are granted licenses, mining companies sell a 24% stake in mines to local investors unless the government exercises its option to acquire the shareholding, according to Reuters.
The record-breaking 3,106-carat Cullinan Diamond was found in 1905 at the Premier mine in Transvaal, now South Africa. It was subsequently cut into smaller stones, some of which form part of the British royal family’s crown jewels.