Vancouver-based Lucara Diamond (TSX:LUC) has discovered “one of the largest rough diamonds ever unearthed” at its Karowe mine in Botswana.

The fist-sized stone weighs 2,492 carats and was found using Lucara’s Mega Diamond Recovery X-ray transmission technology, which the company installed in 2017 to identify and preserve large, high-quality diamonds.

It was mined by processing EM/PK(S) kimberlite, the predominant ore type that Lucara plans to continue mining in the early years of underground mining.

A diamond is valued by carat, clarity, cut and color, which determine its price. Therefore, 1 carat can cost between US$2,000 ($2,971) and US$14,000 ($20,794) per carat. The average price for 1 carat was US$3,561 as of July 2024.

Based on this average price, the diamond would be worth just under $9 million.

Botswana is the second largest diamond producing country in the world after Russia, mining almost 25 million carats of diamonds every year.

The most important mines in the region are De Beers’ Jwanend and Orapa mines.

Lucara has previously discovered several other large diamonds, including the 1,758-carat Sewelô and the 1,109-carat Lesedi La Rona.

The company, with a market capitalization of C$151.6 million (US$165.7 million), sold 76,387 carats in the second quarter of 2024 and generated revenue of US$41.3 million.

According to Lucara, the long-term outlook for natural diamond prices remains positive due to improved supply and demand dynamics resulting from long-term reductions in major producing mines.

However, the market for smaller stones remains weak, with demand impacted by a weak Asian market and lab-grown diamonds.

Lucara had $21.9 million in cash at the end of the June quarter.

Write to Angela East at Mining.com.au

Images: Lucara Diamond