Canadian diamond mining company, LucaraDiamond Corp. has unearthed one of the biggest diamonds ever found in Botswana. Lucara said it had found a 998-carat-high white diamond, making it among the five largest stones ever discovered.
The company said the diamond was cleavage, meaning it will need to be split before further processing into polished gems. Lucara’s Karowe mine is becoming famous for the giant stones.
In 2015, the company discovered a 1,190-carat Lesedi La Rona which sold for $53 million. The company also found an 813-carat Constellation stone that was worth a record $63 million.
Last year, Lucara discovered a 1,758-carat diamond. The biggest diamond ever discovered is the 3,106-carat Cullinan, found near Pretoria in South Africa in 1905. It was cut into several polished gems, the two largest of which — the Great Star of Africa and the Lesser Star of Africa — are set in the Crown Jewels of Britain.
The latest find, measuring 67x49x45mm, was recovered from direct milling of ore sourced from the EM/PK(S) unit of the South Lobe, and follows a notable series of diamond recoveries during this recent production run, including a number of top quality clivage and gem-quality stones of 273, 105, 83, 73, and 69 carats in weight, Lucara said in a press released published on its website. The release said the EM/PK(S) forms an important economic driver for the proposed underground mine at Karowe and continues to produce large gem-quality diamonds in line with expectations, a further testament to the strong resource performance at Karowe.
The 998-carat diamond was recovered in the MDR (“Mega Diamond Recovery”) XRT circuit that allows for diamond recovery post-primary crushing and prior to milling. This recovery represents the second +500 carat diamond recovered from this circuit in 2020.
Year to date, Karowe has produced 31 diamonds greater than 100 carats, including 10 diamonds greater than 200 carats comprising of the 549-carat Sethunya, and the 998-carat diamond. In accordance with the partnership between Lucara and HB Antwerp regarding all diamonds greater than 10.8 carats produced from Karowe, both companies are evaluating the next steps in order to maximise the value of this rare large diamond, Lucara said.
Eira Thomas, CEO commented,
“Lucara is extremely pleased with the continued recovery of large high-quality diamonds from the South Lobe of the Karowe mine. To recover two +500 carat diamonds in 10 months along with the many other high-quality diamonds across all the size ranges is a testament to the unique aspect of the resource at Karowe and the mine’s ability to recover these large and rare diamonds.
Operations at Karowe have continued through 2020 and operational challenges, due to Covid-19 restrictions, have been met with professionalism by the team. We look forward to a safe finish to 2020 and continued success at Karowe as we remain focussed on strong operations to ensure maximum resource performance.”
Source: http://africa.cgtn.com/2020/11/11/canadian-miner-unearths-one-of-the-biggest-diamonds-ever-found-in-botswana/ / http://lucaradiamond.com/newsroom/news-releases/lucara-recovers-998-carat-diamond-fom-the-karowe-m-122802/
