Botswana uncovers world's 2nd-largest diamond worth $40M

Botswana: The leading diamond producer country of Botswana has discovered the world’s second-largest diamond weighing 2492 carats. The newly unearthed diamond is estimated to be worth more than $40 million. 

The diamond being one of the largest discovered in a century has made huge remarks globally. However, the final pricing for the rare piece could even grow significantly high if it pass tests for gem quality. 

The discovery of this unnamed diamond was made by a Canadian mining firm, Lucara Diamond Corporation. The corporation discovered the diamond at Karowe mine in Botswana, which is the mother to the world’s largest diamond, Cullinan. 

“This baseball-sized diamond is the largest rough diamond ever unearthed,” Lucara said in a statement. 

Since the discovery of this new piece, Lucara’s shares have touched the skies. According to some sources, the market valuation surged from $40 million on Thursday to $150 million. 

William Lamb the CEO of Lucara noted that the diamond was detected using Lucara’s Mega Diamond Recovery X-Ray technology. The method has been used since 2017 by the federation to identify and preserve the high-value gem and protect it from breaking in the ore-crushing process. 

Lucara, upon the discovery of this diamond, noted that it is one of the biggest achievements for them and their technology as it has been discovered using X-ray technology.

The CEO of Lucara, William Lamb further noted that, “This find not only showcases the remarkable potential of our Karowe Mine but also upholds our strategic investment in cutting-edge XRT technology.”

It is to be noted that the newly discovered diamond will be put on public display, in order to allow people to witness its alluring beauty and charm. 

The Karowe mine is home to several other big diamonds including its recent recovery of Lesedi La Rona, the fifth largest diamond is a 1109-carat stone. The diamond found in 2015 was sold to a luxury jeweller named Graff for $53 million. 

Botswana is notably one of the largest producers of diamonds across the world and accounts for about 20% of the global diamond production. Diamonds are one of the major contributors to the country’s GDP.