Biggest Diamond in More Than a Century Discovered

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PRECISION
DIAMOND JEDI MASTER
Post by PRECISION on 4 hours ago


Biggest Diamond in More Than a Century Discovered in Botswana
Kevin Crowley
CrowleyKev
Thomas Biesheuvel
tbiesheuvel
November 19, 2015 — 2:57 AM EST

1,111 Carat Diamond Discovery

Lucara Diamond Corp. has discovered a number of significant diamonds at its Karowe mine in Botswana, including this 1,111 carat gem quality Type IIa diamond – the world’s second largest gem quality diamond ever recovered.


1,111 carat stone disovered by Vancouver-based Lucara
Only Cullinan diamond in British Crown Jewels is bigger



A 1,111 carat gem-quality diamond, second only in size to the Cullinan diamond in the British Crown jewels, has been unearthed by Lucara Diamond Corp. in Botswana.

The stone, slightly smaller than a tennis ball, is the largest diamond discovery for more than 100 years, according to Vancouver-based Lucara. It was recovered by machines at
the south lobe of Karowe mine in central Botswana, the company said in a statement.


"The significance of the recovery of a gem-quality stone larger than 1,000 carats, the largest for more than a century and the continued recovery of high quality stones from the south lobe, cannot be overstated," William Lamb, chief executive officer of Lucara, said in the statement.

Lucara’s Karowe mine in Botswana is rivalling Gem Diamonds Ltd.’s Letseng mine in Lesotho as a source of the world’s biggest and best stones. Gem Diamonds previously held the record for the largest discovered this century with the 603-carat Lesotho Promise.

The biggest diamond ever discovered is the 3,106-carat Cullinan, found near Pretoria in South Africa in 1905. It was cut to form the Great Star of Africa and the Lesser Star of Africa, which are set in the Crown Jewels of Britain.

So far, the largest diamonds are resisting the price slump that has hit the wider industry. Prices for Gem Diamonds’ stones that are larger than 10 carats have fallen about 5 percent in the last year, Chief Executive Officer Clifford Elphick said last week. That compares with declines of as much as 30 percent for some smaller gem