You can say that Lucara is riding a mega-diamond hot streak. Less than a month after the mining company announced the recovery of an incredible 2,492-carat rough diamond from its Karowe Mine in Botswana, it is back in the news with the discovery of a high-quality 1,094-carat rough.
August's head turner ranked as the second-largest diamond ever found, and this most recent recovery ranks as #7. Of the 10 largest diamonds ever mined, seven of them were sourced in Botswana, and six of the seven came from the Karowe Mine. (Botswana's Jwaneng Mine secured the sixth-ranked 1,098-carat gem in 2021).
Holding onto the #1 spot is the 3,106-carat Cullinan, which was found at South Africa’s Premier Mine 2 in 1905.
Lucara noted that the 1,094-carat rough was discovered in Karowe’s south lobe, which has historically produced large, high-value diamonds. The stone bears striking similarities to the 692-carat diamond the company unearthed in August 2023. That stone, which ranks #23, was polished by HB Antwerp and yielded diamonds that sold for more than $13 million.
The mining company confirmed that this newly recovered stone also will be polished by HB Antwerp as part of the ongoing partnership between the two companies.
As with the 2,492-carat rough diamond, this newest find benefitted from Lucara's state-of-the-art Mega Diamond Recovery (“MDR”) X-ray Transmission (“XRT”) technology, installed in 2017 to identify and preserve large, high-value diamonds.
"The recovery of this exceptional 1,094-carat diamond is a testament to Karowe's remarkable potential and further validates our investment in the underground expansion project," said company president and CEO William Lamb. "These continued discoveries of large, high-value diamonds demonstrate the consistent quality of our resource and its ability to deliver substantial returns."
Lucara's $683 million underground expansion at Karowe aims to extend the life of the mine beyond 2040.
Here's how Karowe's biggest hits rank on the Wikipedia's List of the "Largest Rough Diamonds" ever found…
2 – 2,492 carats, unnamed, 2024
3 – 1,758 carats, Sewelô, 2019
4 – 1,174 carats, unnamed, 2021
5 – 1,111 carats, Lesedi La Rona, 2015
7 – 1,094 carats, unnamed, 2024
8 – 1,080 carats, unnamed, 2023
9 – 998 carats, unnamed, 2020
Credits: Images courtesy of CNW Group/Lucara Diamond Corp.