A massive 2,492-carat diamond – the second largest in the world – has been discovered in Botswana, the Canadian mining company that found the stone announced Thursday, 22 August.

The diamond was found in the Karowe diamond mine in northeastern Botswana using X-ray detection technology, Lucara Diamond said in a statement.

Lucara did not provide an estimation of the value of the find. In terms of carats, the stone is second only to the 3,106-carat Cullinan Diamond discovered in South Africa in 1905.

“We are ecstatic about the recovery of this extraordinary 2,492-carat diamond,” Lucara president William Lamb said in the statement.

This find was “one of the largest rough diamonds ever unearthed” and detected using the company’s Mega Diamond Recovery X-ray technology installed in 2017 to identify and preserve large, high-value diamonds.

The managing director of Lucara Botswana, Naseem Lahri, presented the translucent stone, which is the size of a palm, to President Mokgweetsi Masisi at his office.

Masisi wants to boost Botswana’s take

“I’m told this is the largest diamond to be discovered in Botswana to date and the second in the world,” Masisi said, congratulating the company on the find. “This is precious.”

Botswana is one of the world’s largest producers of diamonds, which are its main source of income, accounting for 30% of GDP and 80% of its exports, according to International Monetary Fund figures.

In February 2023, Masisi threatened to sever ties with the diamond mining and marketing company Anglo-American, which owns 85% of De Beers to Botswana’s 15%.

At issue is a 2011 agreement over how many rough stones Botswana is allowed to sell. Masisi was accused by political foes of ramping up the nationalist rhetoric against De Beers on the campaign trail.

In June 2023, a new deal with De Beers was announced, allowing for more rough stones to be sold by Botswana. “We’ve agreed in principle,” Masisi told The Africa Report in June, in an interview in Paris. “The agreement is very much on track. We’re just dotting the ‘i’s and crossing the ‘t’s. Our intention is to make sure that we stay in the front, in the leadership of the diamond industry,” says Masisi.

The position of De Beers has been “a little uncertain” after the takeover bid for its parent Anglo-American by global mining giant BHP in May. That bid failed, but Anglo now plans to sell off De Beers over the next couple of years. “We’re managing that. We’re keeping a close eye on it,” says Masisi.

The arid and sparsely populated country, home to around 2.5 million people, was poor at the time of its independence from Britain in 1966.

Diamonds were discovered a year later and today the country is the world’s largest producer by value, the IMF says.

Lucara says it pays a royalty of 10% of the gross sales value of diamonds produced from Karowe to the government, regardless of whether the diamond is sold rough or polished.

“With a diamond of this magnitude, I can see roads being built,” said Masisi, as he posed for pictures with the huge stone.

‘Will likely see more’ due to new technology

Tobias Kormind, managing director of Europe’s largest online diamond jeweller, 77 Diamonds, confirmed it was the largest rough diamond to be unearthed since the Cullinan Diamond, parts of which 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. So we will likely see more where this came from,” he said.

Before the find was announced on Thursday, the largest diamond discovered in Botswana was a 1,758-carat stone mined by Lucara at the Karowe mine in 2019 and named Sewelo.

Lucara found a 1,174-carat diamond stone in Botswana in 2021 using the same X-ray technology.

The mine started production in 2012 and has since then sold 216 diamonds for more than $1m each and more than 11 single diamonds for more than $10m each, it says.

The diamond mining industry has been hurt by lab-grown versions and weaker spending.

“Diamond prices are going through a difficult time now,” Masisi said. “But every diamond is precious and valuable. We have to optimise and get the best price for this diamond.”

The Financial Times newspaper reported that people close to Lucara, who were not identified, estimated the stone could be worth upwards of $40m.