Big diamonds are forever
A 1 111 carat, gem-quality diamond, second in size only to the Cullinan diamond cut into the British crown jewels, has been unearthed by the 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 the Karowe mine in central Botswana, the Canadian company said in a statement.
William Lamb, Lucara’s CEO, said the significance of the recovery of the gemquality stone “and the continued recovery of high-quality stones from the south lobe, cannot be overstated”.
Lucara’s Karowe mine in Botswana is rivalling Gem Diamonds’s Letseng mine in Lesotho as a source of the world’s biggest and best stones.
Gem Diamonds had held the record for the largest diamond discovered this century with the 603 carat Lesotho Promise.
In a note, Edward Sterck, a London-based analyst at BMO Capital Markets, wrote: “It is almost impossible to estimate a value for such an extraordinary stone, given that a valuation is highly dependent on the colour, clarity and cutting and polishing characteristics.”
Lucara sold a 341.9 carat Type-IIa diamond in July for $20.6-million (about R288-million), or $60 000 a carat, Sterck said.
So far, the largest diamonds are resisting a price slump that has hit the wider industry.
Prices for Gem Diamonds stones that are larger than 10 carats have fallen about 5% in the past year, CEO Clifford Elphick said last week. That compares with declines of as much as 30% for some smaller gems.
The biggest diamond discovered is the 3 106 carat Cullinan, found near Pretoria 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.
Lucara also said it found two white diamonds, weighing 813 carats and 374 carats, before cleaning, at the same mine. — Bloomberg