The second largest diamond in the world found in Botswana

A massive 2,492-carat diamond — the second largest in the world — has been discovered in Botswana, the Canadian mining company that found the stone announced Thursday.

The diamond was discovered at the Karowe diamond mine in northeastern Botswana using X-ray detection technology, Lucara Diamond Corp. said.

Lucara did not provide an estimate of the discovery’s value. In terms of carats, the stone is second only to the 3,016-carat Cullinan diamond, discovered in South Africa in 1905.

“We are delighted with 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 discovered” and was 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.

Lucara Botswana Managing Director Naseem Lahri presented the translucent stone, which is the size of a palm, to President Mokgweetsi Masisi at his office later on Thursday.

“I am told that this is the largest diamond discovered in Botswana to date and the second in the world,” Masisi said, congratulating the company on the find. “This is precious.”

Botswana is one of the world’s largest producers of diamonds, which are its main source of income, accounting for 30 percent of its GDP and 80 percent of its exports, according to International Monetary Fund figures.

The arid and sparsely populated country, home to about 2.5 million people, was impoverished at the time of its independence from Britain in 1966.

Diamonds were discovered a year later, and today the country is the world’s largest producer by value, the IMF says.

Lucara says it pays the government a royalty of 10 percent of the gross sales value of diamonds produced at Karowe, regardless of whether the diamond is sold rough or polished.

“With a diamond this size, I can see roads being built,” Masisi said as he posed with the huge stone.

– “I’ll probably see more”

Tobias Kormind, managing director of Europe’s largest online diamond jeweller, 77 Diamonds, confirmed it was the largest rough diamond discovered since the Cullinan diamond, parts of which adorn Britain’s crown jewels.

“This discovery is largely due to newer technology that allows larger diamonds to be extracted from the ground without breaking into pieces. So we’ll probably see more where that comes from,” he said.

Before the discovery was announced on Thursday, the largest diamond discovered in Botswana was a 1,758-carat stone mined by Lucara at the Karowe mine in 2019 and named Sewelo.

Lucara found a 1,174-carat diamond stone in Botswana in 2021 using the same X-ray technology.

The mine began production in 2012 and has since sold 216 diamonds for more than $1 million each and more than 11 individual diamonds for more than $10 million each, it said.

The diamond mining industry has been hurt by lab-grown versions and weaker spending. “Diamond prices are going through a tough time right now,” Masisi said. “But every diamond is precious and valuable. We have to optimize and get the best price for this diamond.”

The Financial Times reported that those close to Lucara, who were not identified, estimated that the stone could be worth more than $40 million.

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