Gaborone (Botswana), Apr 26 (IANS): One of the world's largest diamonds weighing a whopping 1,758 carats has been found in Botswana, a mining company said.
A Canadian company running the Karowe diamond mine in central east Botswana said the retrieved stone was one of the largest diamonds ever to have been unearthed and the largest ever in the southern African nation, reports Xinhua news agency.
The huge diamond that was retrieved on Thursday weighed nearly 352 grams and measured 83mm x 62mm x 46mm.
"Lucara's technologically advanced, XRT diamond recovery circuit has once again delivered historic results," said Eira Thomas, Lucara's CEO.
According to Lucara, since the new XRT plant was established, some 12 diamonds exceeding 300 carats have been sourced. This includes two stones that weighed over 1,000 carats.
Lucara owns 100 percent of the Karowe Botswana mine and is a leading independent producer of large exceptional quality Type IIa diamonds, the company said in a statement.
Botswana is the world's leading producer of high quality diamonds.