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Lesotho Mine Yields Sixth 100-Carat-Plus Diamond of 2018
The 152-carat stone was found at the Letšeng mine.
This photo provided by Gem Diamonds shows the 152-carat rough diamond recently recovered from the Letšeng mine. Gem said it is a Type IIa diamond of top color.
London--Gem Diamonds Ltd. recovered a 152-carat rough diamond from its Letšeng mine in Lesotho last week, the sixth 100-carat-plus diamond found so far this year.
The London-based diamond miner said the stone is a Type IIa diamond of top color.
Gem Diamonds’ run of finding a half-dozen big diamonds started right after the new year.
The mining company announced the discovery of a 110-carat and a 117-carat diamond, both Type IIa and D color, a week into 2018.
Seven days later, Gem Diamonds said it recovered a diamond that is the fifth-largest gem-quality rough on record, a 910-carat stone (pictured below) that is also Type IIa, D color. 
That stone sold Monday for $40 million.
Later in January, the mining company reported finding another big Type IIa, D color diamond, this one weighing 149 carats.
(The fifth 100-carat-plus diamond was not gem quality.)
Gem Diamonds owns 70 percent of the Letšeng mine, which is located in the Maluti Mountains of Lesotho, an independent kingdom encircled by South Africa. The Lesotho government owns the remaining 30 percent.
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