A 2,492-carat raw diamond discovered in Botswana is believed to be the world’s second-largest, behind only the famed Cullinan diamond. The gigantic gemstone was unearthed in Botswana’s Karowe diamond mine, which is wholly owned by Canadian mining company Lucara Diamond Corp. “We are ecstatic about the recovery of this extraordinary 2,492-carat diamond ,” Lucara’s president, William Lamb, said in a statement.
Lucara did not disclose details of the diamond's quality or its value. However, the Financial Times quoted unnamed sources close to Lucara estimating that it could fetch upwards of $40 million. The diamond was detected and recovered by the company's Mega Diamond Recovery (MDR) X-ray Transmission (XRT) technology, installed in 2017 to identify and preserve large, high-value diamonds.
Lamb said the discovery upheld Lucara’s investment in XRT technology as well as the potential of its Karowe mine, which has yielded some massive finds over the last few years. In 2019, a 1,758-carat diamond found in the mine was purchased by luxury fashion brand Louis Vuitton. Before that, in 2010, Graff Diamonds had bought the 1,109 carat diamond found in Karowe in 2016 for a staggering $53 million.
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