The diamond, discovered using Lucara’s Mega Diamond Recovery (MDR) X-ray Transmission (XRT) technology, is the second-largest ever found, following the 3,106-carat Cullinan Diamond from South Africa in 1905.
Diamond exploration and mining company Lucara indicates that it could take between three months to a year to determine the value of the 2,492-carat diamond recently recovered from its Karowe Diamond Mine in Botswana, the landlocked southern African nation where diamonds contribute over 90% of total exports and are a major source of fiscal revenues.
Managing Director of Lucara Botswana, Naseem Lahri, explains to FORBES AFRICA, “We are not in a hurry at this point in time. We don’t want to make any mistakes, especially looking at the impact of the stone, the provenance, and the way it is sold. We really want to make the best of this.”
Lahri emphasizes the importance of strategic planning, stating that the process will involve close collaboration with the Botswana government.
“For us, the first step is to look at the provenance, and to market the provenance, and to show people that natural diamonds bring a lot of benefit to the communities and the country itself,” she adds.
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This find adds to the list of significant diamonds recovered from the Karowe Diamond Mine, including the 1,758-carat Sewelô and the 1,109-carat Lesedi La Rona, previously the second-largest ever diamond eventually sold for $53 million.
About interests attracted, Lahri notes, “Everybody will definitely be interested in something of that historical magnitude. You will never get a lab-grown diamond of this size; it will never ever happen. And these are natural diamonds coming out of the ground, you know, from Mother Earth.”
The analysis and strategy development for this diamond are critical, given its potential impact on both Lucara and on Botswana’s economy.
“We want to change the narrative on natural diamonds; they are not conflict diamonds, they actually benefit the communities that the diamonds are recovered in. The diamonds of Botswana benefit every citizen,” Lahri says.
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