A colossal 2,492-carat diamond, the world’s second-largest, has been unearthed in Botswana by Lucara Diamond, a Canadian mining company. The diamond was discovered using advanced X-ray detection technology at the Karowe mine in northeastern Botswana, but its value has not yet been estimated. Lucara’s president, William Lamb, expressed immense excitement over the find, noting it is one of the largest rough diamonds ever found and highlighting the effectiveness of their Mega Diamond Recovery technology, installed in 2017.
The diamond, roughly the size of a palm, was presented to Botswana’s President Mokgweetsi Masisi, who acknowledged it as the largest diamond discovered in the country to date. Botswana, a leading global diamond producer, significantly relies on diamond exports, which account for 30% of its GDP. The discovery comes as a major boost for the country, which was impoverished at its independence in 1966 but has since become the world’s top diamond producer by value.
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Lucara’s success in finding such massive stones is attributed to modern technology that prevents large diamonds from breaking during extraction. This latest find surpasses the 1,758-carat Sewelo diamond discovered in Botswana in 2019 and another 1,174-carat diamond unearthed in 2021, both at the Karowe mine. The mine, operational since 2012, has been highly profitable, selling numerous diamonds for millions of dollars each.
The diamond industry has faced challenges, including competition from lab-grown diamonds and fluctuating market prices. Despite the current difficulties in diamond prices, President Masisi emphasized the importance of optimizing the value of this extraordinary find, with estimates suggesting the diamond could be worth over $40 million.
