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1,094-Carat Diamond Recovered in Botswana Just Weeks After Historic Find
The giant gem originated from Karowe, the same mine that yielded a 2,492-carat rough diamond in late August.
Lucara Diamond Corp. provided this photo of the 1,094-carat diamond just unearthed at Karowe, the diamond mine it operates in Botswana.
Letlhakane, Botswana—Less than a month after yielding Botswana’s largest diamond ever, the country’s Karowe mine has produced another enormous stone.
Lucara Diamond Corp., the company that has mined the deposit since it was fully commissioned in 2012, announced late Sunday that it has recovered a 1,094-carat diamond from Karowe.
It is the sixth diamond weighing more than 1,000 carats discovered by Lucara at Karowe, and the second 1,000-carat-plus diamond recovered there this year.
In a statement, Lucara compared the giant gem’s quality with the 692-carat stone recovered in August 2023, a Type IIa diamond that generated polished stones that sold for more than $13 million.
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Lucara Diamond Corp., the company that has mined the deposit since it was fully commissioned in 2012, announced late Sunday that it has recovered a 1,094-carat diamond from Karowe.
It is the sixth diamond weighing more than 1,000 carats discovered by Lucara at Karowe, and the second 1,000-carat-plus diamond recovered there this year.
In a statement, Lucara compared the giant gem’s quality with the 692-carat stone recovered in August 2023, a Type IIa diamond that generated polished stones that sold for more than $13 million.
Like the 692-carat stone, the 1,094-carat rough diamond originated from the mine’s South Lobe.
These two stones, as well as the record-setting 2,492-carat diamond pulled out of the ground in late August, were identified and saved by the x-ray transmission technology Lucara installed at Karowe’s processing plant in 2017.
This technology allows the miner to identify and preserve large, high-value diamonds as they move through the plant, stones that historically would have been lost to the crusher.
The 1,094-carat diamond shows “minimal to no damage,” as it was recovered early on in the processing stream, Lucara said.
HB Antwerp will purchase and polish the diamond, per the recently revived 10-year sales agreement the diamond manufacturer has with Lucara.
Commenting on the latest find, Lucara President and CEO William Lamb said, “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.
“As we progress with our underground development, we’re increasingly confident in Karowe’s capacity to produce these legendary diamonds well into the future, cementing our position in the high-end diamond market.”
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