Botswana finds world’s 2nd largest diamond, weighing over 2,400 carats

PRETORIA | TASS | A diamond weighing 2,492 carats has been found at the Karowe mine in northeastern Botswana, Canadian mining company Lucara Diamond Corporation said.

This “remarkable” find is “one of the largest rough diamonds ever unearthed,” Lucara President William Lamb said in the statement. He recalled that the aforementioned mine produced diamonds weighing 1,758 and 1,109 carats.

The company did not specify the quality and approximate value of the stone.

The largest gem diamond is the legendary Cullinan Diamond (Star of Africa) weighing 3,106 carats. It was found in January 1905 on the territory of modern South Africa. The stone was presented to King Edward VII by the government of the British colony of Transvaal, and after processing, the diamond was set in the scepter of the British monarchs. The largest non-jewelry quality diamond was found in Brazil in 1895 (3,167 carats).

Botswana is the largest diamond producer in Africa and the second largest in the world after Russia.