A Botswana mine owned by Canadian firm Lucara Diamond has found the world’s second-largest diamond, a rough 2,492-carat stone, which is the biggest find since the 3,106-carat Cullinan diamond, found in South Africa in 1905.
The diamond was found at Karowe mine, about 500km north of Botswana’s capital, Gaborone, according to the BBC. Botswana said it was the largest diamond ever discovered in the state.
The previous biggest discovery in Botswana was a 1,758-carat stone found at the same mine in 2019.
In a statement, Lucara said the stone was “one of the largest rough diamonds ever unearthed”.
Lucara’s head, William Lamb, said: “We are ecstatic about the recovery of this extraordinary 2,492 carat diamond.”
According to the BBC, Botswana is one of the world’s biggest producers of diamonds, accounting for about 20% of global production.
[Image: https://news.cision.com/lucara-diamond-corp-/i/figure1,c3326218]