World's second largest diamond discovered in Botswana

One of the world’s largest diamonds has been discovered in Botswana, weighing in at an astonishing 2,492 carats.

The remarkable gem was unearthed at the Karowe Mine in central Botswana by the Canadian mining company, Lucara Diamond Corporation, using advanced X-ray technology.

While it is still too early to assign an exact value to the diamond, it bears comparison to a smaller gem, also found at the Karowe Mine in 2016, which sold for $63 million (£48 million). Experts suggest that this new find could potentially be worth as much as $90 million.

The diamond, which tips the scales at around half a kilogram, has yet to be officially named. It was presented to Botswana’s President, Mokgweetsi Masisi, who expressed his amazement upon seeing it, remarking, “Wow… It’s overwhelming. I am lucky to have seen it in time.”

This discovery marks the largest diamond found in over a century, with the previous record held by the Cullinan Diamond, unearthed in South Africa in 1905. Weighing 3,106 carats, the Cullinan was later cut into several gems, some of which are part of the British Crown Jewels.

Botswana, the world’s second-largest producer of natural diamonds after Russia, continues to solidify its reputation for yielding significant gems. In the past decade alone, the Karowe Mine has produced four diamonds exceeding 1,000 carats.

Naseem Lahri, Botswana’s managing director for Lucara, commented on the historic find, saying, “This is history in the making. I am very proud. It is a product of Botswana.”

Diamonds are formed deep beneath the earth’s surface, where carbon atoms are compressed under extreme pressure. Scientists believe that most diamonds are at least a billion years old, with some potentially as old as three billion years.