2,492 Carat Diamonds Believed To Be The Second Largest In The World Found In Botswana

Diamonds found in Botswana. (Source: Lucara Diamond)

JAKARTA - A rough 2,492 carat diamond, believed to be the second largest ever found, was found in Botswana, according to a mining company.

This is the largest found since the discovery of Berlian Cullinan weighing 3,106 carats in South Africa in 1905.

Canadian mining company Lucara Diamond Corp announced in August the "extraordinary" gem was found intact at the Karowe mine, quoted from CNN, October 10.

Calling it an "extraordinary" discovery, the company celebrates as "one of the greatest rough diamonds ever found."

The diamond was detected, excavated, and lifted thanks to the company's Mega Diamond Recovery (MDR) X-ray Transmission (XRT) technology, which is designed to "identify and establish large and high-value diamonds," the company said in a press release.

"We are very happy with the discovery of this extraordinary 2,492 carat diamond," said Lucara President and CEO William Lamb.

Rough diamonds are usually classified as gem quality, near gems or industrial quality, depending on color, clarity, size and shape.

Prior to the latest announcement, the second largest discovery was estimated to be Lesedi La Rona, a 1,109 carat stone also found by Lucara at the Karowe mine in 2015. The diamond was sold to luxury jewelry companyUFF for US$53 million two years later.

A spokesman for Lucara said his company had found six of the 10 best diamonds ever found.

In July, Botswana, the world's largest diamond producer by value, proposed a law to request that, once they are granted permission, mining companies sell 24 percent of the shares in the mines to local investors, unless the government uses its option to acquire the share ownership, according to Reuters.

It is known that Berlian Cullinan, who broke a record weighing 3,106 carats, was found in 1905 at a Premier mine in Transvaal, which is now South Africa. The diamond was later cut into smaller stones, some of which were part of the British royal family's crown jewelry.