Sourcing

Lucara Digs Up 127-Carat Diamond

SourcingJan 16, 2019

Lucara Digs Up 127-Carat Diamond

The miner said it’s the 129th rough diamond weighing more than 100 carats found at Botswana’s Karowe mine.

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Lucara announced last Thursday the recovery of this 127-carat, gem-quality rough white diamond from the Karowe mine in Botswana.

Vancouver—Diamond miner Lucara Diamond Corp. has recovered its 129th rough diamond weighing more than 100 carats from the Karowe mine in Botswana.

Announced last week, the latest large diamond find weighs in at 127 carats. Lucara described it as a top, gem-quality white stone.

Karowe, which Vancouver, Canada-based Lucara owns in its entirety, opened in 2012. Last year alone it produced 33 diamonds weighing more than 100 carats.

Of the 129 one hundred-plus carat diamonds Lucara has ever recovered at the site, 12 are more than 300 carats. Five of those were found just last year. 

“The recovery of this latest, high value, top white 127-carat diamond attests to the remarkable nature of the Karowe orebody, which has consistently delivered large, high value diamonds throughout its history,” Lucara President and CEO Eira Thomas said in a press release. 

Thomas said this year, mining efforts will be concentrated in the south lobe, where the 1,109-carat Lesedi la Rona and the 813-carat Constellation diamond were discovered in 2015. 

Mining at Karowe is scheduled through 2026, though Thomas added that Lucara is completing a study that could extend the mine’s lifetime by a decade or more.

The Canadian company has sold 180 Karowe diamonds for more than $1 million each and 10 diamonds for more than $10 million each.

Ashley Davisis the senior editor, fashion at National Jeweler, covering all things related to design, style and trends.

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