Egg-sized diamond found in Canada’s frozen north

The 552-carat gem was found at Diavik mine

The biggest diamond ever found in North America has been unearthed by Dominion Diamond Mines and Rio Tinto Group at a mine in Canada’s frozen north.

The 552-carat yellow gem was found at the Diavik mine in the Northwest Territories, and is almost three times the size of the next largest stone ever found in Canada. While Diavik and the neighbouring Ekati mine produce some very high quality diamonds, they’re not renowned for the sort of huge gems normally found in southern African mines.

Dominion chief executive officer Shane Durgin said the diamond is gem quality, meaning it’s suitable for jewellery, but gave few additional details that help determine its value.

Yellow stones typically sell at a discount to Type IIa top whites often found in the best African mines.

Still, the highest quality fancy vivid yellow or fancy intense yellow stones can sell for a premium.

“We can label it fancy yellow, but beyond that, due to its rough nature and the abrasions received through the processing facility, that’s all we can comment on,” Durgin said in an interview. “It’s very hard to give a ballpark estimate.”