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Botswana mine yields 342-carat diamond
The huge gem-quality piece of rough came out of Karowe, the same mine that yielded two 200-carat-plus pieces of rough last year.
A photo provided by Lucara of the 341.9-carat piece of gem-quality rough; the stone has “exceptional color and clarity,” the Vancouver-based mining company said.
Vancouver, B.C.--Lucara Diamond Corp. announced this week the discovery of a 341.9-carat gem-quality diamond at its Karowe Mine in Botswana, the same mine that yielded two 200-carat-plus pieces of rough last year.
It is a Type IIa diamond that shows “exceptional color and clarity” and will be sold along with two other big pieces of rough unearthed, both of which are more than 100 carats. When the sales will take place has not yet been determined, Lucara said.
The diamond was found while processing fragmental kimberlite from the central and south lobe interface of the mine, which is proving, somewhat surprisingly, to be a prolific source of high-quality, large rough diamonds.
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Lucara noted in the release announcing the 342-carat discovery that it found a decent-sized piece of rough, 7.8 carats, just while testing its new XRT diamond recovery machines.
“The recovery of this magnificent stone once again confirms the quality of diamonds within the Karowe resource,” CEO William Lamb said.
Lucara Diamond Corp. is based in Vancouver. The company has the Karowe Mine in Botswana and the Mothae Project in Lesotho, which is operates in a 75-25 percent partnership with the government of the kingdom.
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