A massive 2,492-carat diamond—one of the largest such stones ever found—has been unearthed from a mine in Botswana.
The stone, found at the Karowe mine that’s run by Canadian company Lucara Diamond Corp., is yet to be thoroughly assessed and it’s unclear whether it will yield the highest-quality gems. But it’s not that much smaller than the 3,106-carat Cullinan Diamond, the world’s largest, which was discovered in South Africa in 1905.
The find was made using x-ray technology installed at the mine to identify high-value stones in the primary ore body, Lucara said in a statement. It follows two other significant finds at the Karowe mine, including the 1,758-carat Sewelo and 1,109-carat Lesedi La Rona.
“The ability to recover such a massive, high-quality stone intact demonstrates the effectiveness of our approach to diamond recovery,” Lucara Chief Executive Officer William Lamb said in the statement.
The discovery comes as diamond prices have fallen to the lowest in four years, according to the Diamond Standard Index. While the industry fared well during the pandemic as stuck-at-home consumers spent more on luxury items rather than travel and entertainment, demand has since weakened, and the market has become oversupplied. China’s slowdown and an increase in output of synthetic stones have only added to the pressure.
This article was provided by Bloomberg News.