Lucara Diamond Corp. has recovered three exceptional diamonds including a 1,111-carat stone from its Karowe mine in Botswana. The diamond is the second-largest gem-quality diamond ever recovered and the largest to be retrieved through a modern processing facility, the miner said.
The type-II stone, measuring 65mm x 56mm x 40mm, is also the largest diamond ever recovered in Botswana and was revealed by recently installed ‘Large Diamond Recovery’ X-ray technology (XRT) machines, the Canadian company said in a statement November 18.
The diamond is the largest discovered since the 3,106-carat Cullinan diamond was taken from the Cullinan mine in South Africa in 1905.
“The significance of the recovery of a gem-quality stone larger than 1,000 carats, the largest for more than a century, cannot be overstated,” Lucara president and chief executive officer William Lamb said in the statement.
“Our focus on mining the south lobe [of the Karowe mine], which is delivering value beyond expectation, has been perfectly timed with the commissioning of our recent plant modifications, enabling the recovery of these large, high-quality, exceptional diamonds.”
Lucara also recovered two white diamonds weighing 813 and 374 carats from Karowe using the XRT technology, it added in a separate statement November 19. The weights of the stones are subject to change as they have not yet been cleaned, Lucara added.
“This has been an amazing week for Lucara with the recovery of the second largest and also the sixth-largest gem-quality diamonds ever mined,” Lamb said.