The huge diamond, unearthed in Botswana, is thought to be the second biggest rough diamond ever discovered. Tweet Facebook Mail A massive 2492-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 3106-carat Cullinan Diamond was discovered in South Africa in 1905.
Canadian mining company Lucara Diamond Corp. announced 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.
" READ MORE: If you discard a plastic bottle on an Aussie beach, it could float to Antarctica 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 2492 carat diamond." Rough diamonds are usually classified as being gem-quality, near-gem or industrial-quality, depending on their colour, clarity, size and shape.
Prior to the latest announcement, the second largest discovery was thought to be the Lesedi La Rona, a 1109-carat stone also found by Lucara at the Karowe mine in 2015. The diamond was sold to luxury jeweller Graff for US$53 million two years l.