World's Second-Largest Diamond Discovered In Botswana

A colossal 2,492-carat diamond, now ranked as the second largest in the world, has been unearthed in Botswana. The remarkable discovery was announced on Thursday by the Canadian mining company, Lucara Diamond Corp.

The massive gemstone was found at the Karowe Diamond Mine in northeastern Botswana using advanced X-ray detection technology, according to a statement from Lucara Diamond Corp.

While the company did not disclose the diamond's estimated value or quality, the sheer size of the stone places it just behind the legendary 3,016-carat Cullinan Diamond, which was discovered in South Africa in 1905.

“We are ecstatic about the recovery of this extraordinary 2,492-carat diamond,” Lucara President William Lamb stated.

Images released by Lucara show the diamond is roughly the size of a human palm. The find is considered "one of the largest rough diamonds ever unearthed" and was detected using Lucara’s state-of-the-art Mega Diamond Recovery X-ray technology, which was installed in 2017 to identify and preserve large, high-value diamonds.

Botswana’s President Mokgweetsi Masisi was expected to view the massive stone later on Thursday. The government confirmed that it is indeed the second-largest diamond ever discovered.

Tobias Kormind, managing director of 77 Diamonds, Europe's largest online diamond jeweler, verified that this is the largest rough diamond to be unearthed since the Cullinan Diamond, parts of which now adorn Britain’s crown jewels.

“This discovery is largely thanks to newer technology that allows larger diamonds to be extracted from the ground without breaking into pieces. We can likely expect more discoveries of this scale in the future,” Kormind remarked.

Botswana, one of the world’s leading diamond producers, relies heavily on diamond mining, which contributes 30% of the country's GDP and 80% of its exports.

Prior to this discovery, the largest diamond found in Botswana was a 1,758-carat stone, also mined by Lucara at the Karowe site in 2019 and named Sewelo. In 2021, Lucara unearthed a 1,174-carat diamond using the same advanced X-ray technology.