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SourcingMay 25, 2018
2 More Big Diamonds Uncovered in Lesotho
Gem Diamonds found a 115-carat white diamond, while Lucapa discovered a 25-carat yellow.
The Kingdom of Lesotho added two more big diamond finds to its roster this month. At left is the 115-carat rough diamond Gem Diamonds recently uncovered and at right are a 6-carat rough diamond and 25-carat rough yellow diamond Lucapa recently found.
New York--Adding to the recent spate of diamond mining news around big finds, Gem Diamonds Limited and Lucapa Diamond Company both recently reported the recovery of large rough stones.
Gem Diamonds Limited said it recovered a 115-carat “top white color” Type IIa diamond from the Letšeng mine in Lesotho.
This is the ninth diamond weighing more than 100 carats the company has recovered in 2018--including a 152-carat diamond and a 169-carat diamond, both in March--already exceeding the total number of 100-plus-carat diamonds it recovered last year.
Meanwhile, Lucapa Diamond Company recently reported the recovery of a 25-carat yellow diamond from the Mothae kimberlite mine, which is located within about 3 miles of Letšeng.
Lucapa recovered the gem-quality specimen from the Neck Zone of Mothae, which is not part of the mine’s current 1-million-carat Joint Ore Reserves Committee-compliant (JORC) resource.
The diamond was recovered within the first two days of trial processing at the site.
Lucapa said that time period also rendered a 6-carat diamond recovery.
Earlier this month, the mining company discovered what it called the Lulo mine in Angola’s largest gem-quality colored diamond to date--a 46-carat pink.
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