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SourcingFeb 07, 2020
Lucara Just Unearthed a 549-Carat Diamond in Botswana
Plus, Gem Diamonds digs up a 183-carat rock.
The Karowe mine has produced some of the largest diamonds on record. Recently, Lucara uncovered this 549-carat diamond there.
Vancouver—Lucara Diamond Corp. has announced the recovery of an impressive diamond.
The miner unearthed a 549-carat diamond of “exceptional purity” from its fully-owned Karowe mine in Botswana, the company said in a statement.
The stone was recovered from the same ore block of the mine’s south lobe that produced the 1,758-carat Sewelô diamond, the 1,109-carat Lesedi La Rona, and the 813-carat Constellation diamond.
The new find is the fourth-largest diamond to ever be mined at Karowe, and the sixth diamond recovered from the mine in 2020 weighing more than 100 carats.
It was found with the aid of Lucara’s Mega Diamond Recovery XRT circuit, which is meant to catch large diamonds before they risk damage when entering the regular processing plant.
Lucara CEO Eira Thomas said, “Lucara is extremely pleased to be starting off 2020 with the recovery of two, large, high-quality diamonds that builds on the positive momentum generated following the completion of a strong 4th quarter sale in December and the announcement of our ground breaking partnership with Louis Vuitton on the Sewelô in January.”
This week, Gem Diamonds also uncovered some major rocks.
On Tuesday, the diamond miner recovered a Type IIa 183-carat white diamond from Lesotho’s Letšeng mine.
On the same day, it also dug up two more high-quality stones, an 89-carat diamond and 70-carat diamond.
Letšeng is known for producing large, high-quality diamonds, and Gem Diamonds says it is the highest dollar per carat kimberlite diamond mine in the world.
Gem Diamonds owns 70 percent of the mine.
Last year, the miner announced the sale of its Ghaghoo mine in Botswana, which was part of the sale of its entire Botswana operation.
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