Lucara Diamond has unearthed another supersize stone from its Karowe mine in Botswana.
On Sept. 15, the miner announced it had discovered a 1,094 ct. rough diamond at Karowe. That’s the sixth 1,000-plus ct. gem Lucara has found.
The diamond will be sold by HB Antwerp, in line with the companies’ ongoing partnership. The miner didn’t comment on its quality, except to call it “exceptional.”
News of this latest find comes just three weeks after Lucara said it had recovered an even bigger stone from Karowe: a 2,492 ct. diamond, which has been hailed as the second-biggest piece of rough ever discovered. Botswana president Mokgweetsi Masisi’s eyes popped when he saw it.
That diamond will probably not be sold through HB, as it’s considered a “legacy stone for Botswana,” Lucara CEO William Lamb said on The Rapaport Diamond Podcast.
“Because of the notoriety of the stone and because of its significance to Botswana, we need to look at the best route to market for the stone,” he said. “And you never know. It doesn’t necessarily mean a stone of this size should be cut.”
In 2016, Lucara tried—and failed—to sell the 1,109 ct. Lesidi la Rona uncut at a Sotheby’s auction. (It was eventually purchased by Graff.)
This time, “Lucara is working with the government of Botswana to define the optimal path forward to use the stone to further market Botswana and the natural diamond industry,” Lamb tells JCK. “No concerted thought or action have been expended on the final sales process. It is more about leveraging the stone for the benefit of the industry.”
(Photo courtesy of Lucara Diamond)
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