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SourcingApr 27, 2018
Botswana Mine Yields Another Big Diamond
This one is 327 carats and comes two weeks after the same diamond mine produced a 472-carat diamond.
The 327-carat top white, gem-quality rough diamond found in Botswana this week is the eighth diamond that’s 100 carats or larger recovered by Lucara Diamond Corp. this year.
Vancouver—For the second time this month, a company that mines diamonds in Botswana has recovered a rough diamond that’s well over 100 carats.
Lucara Diamond Corp. said Thursday its Karowe mine yielded a 327-carat gem quality diamond. Just two weeks ago, this same mine produced a 472-carat diamond.
That stone, however, is described as top light brown, while the smaller rough diamond found this week is reported to be top white in color.
Vancouver-based Lucara said it plans to hold a tender for exceptional stones in June that will include both the 472- and 327-carat diamonds, along with other diamonds bigger than 10.8 carats recovered this year. Viewings will be held in Gaborone, Botswana, between June 10 and 19, with the tender scheduled to close June 19 at 4 p.m. CET.
The exceptional stone tender will come halfway through what has been a bumper year for big diamond finds.
Lucara’s Karowe Diamond Mine has yielded a total of eight diamonds that are larger than 100 carats so far this year.
And Gem Diamonds Ltd. has recovered seven from its Letšeng mine in Lesotho, including a 910-carat stone that’s the fifth-largest rough diamond on record. Gem sold the diamond for $40 million in March.
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