This photograph taken on 2 November 2023 in Geneva, shows "Bleu Royal", a rare 17,61 carat internally flawless fancy vivid blue pear-shaped diamond. The "Bleu Royal" diamond is expected to fetch between $35 to $50 million at Christie's auction house "Magnificent Jewels" sale scheduled in Geneva for 7 November 2023.
(Photo by PIERRE ALBOUY / AFP)
One of the world's largest diamonds ever unearthed -- a rough 2,492-carat stone -- has been found in Botswana, a Canadian mining company that discovered the gem announced Thursday.
The diamond was found in the Karowe Diamond Mine in northeastern Botswana, about 430 kilometres (270 miles) from the capital Gaborone, Lucara Diamond Corp. said in a statement.
Lucara did not give a value for the find or mention its quality.
In terms of carats, the stone appears to be not far behind the largest gem-quality diamond ever mined, the 3,016.75-carat Cullinan Diamond discovered in South Africa in 1905.
"We are ecstatic about the recovery of this extraordinary 2,492 carat diamond," Lucara president and CEO William Lamb said in the statement.
This find was "one of the largest rough diamonds ever unearthed" and detected using the company's Mega Diamond Recovery X-ray technology, the statement said.
President Mokgweetsi Masisi was due to view the massive stone later Thursday.
Botswana is one of the world's largest producers of diamonds, which are its main source of income.
Before the find announced on Thursday, the largest diamond recovered in Botswana was a 1,758-carat stone mined by Lucara in 2019 and named Sewelo.
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