Botswana diamond could be world's third largest

[Gordon_R]

Botswana diamond could be world's third largest

The "rare and extraordinary" gem weighs 1,098 carats and was unveiled by diamond firm, Debswana.

www.bbc.com

The stone - weighing 1,098 carats - was shown to President Mokgweetsi Masisi, two weeks after the diamond firm, Debswana, unearthed it.

The huge gem is only slightly less heavy than the world's second-largest diamond which was also found in Botswana in 2015.

 

[Gordon_R]

Recovery of such a large diamond is rare, partly because the screening plant is set up to discard/crush stones below and above certain size ranges:

http://www.dailynews.gov.bw/news-details.php?nid=62748

Minister of Mineral Resources, Green Technology and Energy Security, Mr Lefoko Moagi said it was rare for a gemstone of that magnitude to be discovered through a conventional ore-processing circuit.

“Normally it would not have come out as it did, it would normally have been broken up, and this is indeed a momentous occasion for Debswana, especially since the largest stone they ever discovered was in 1993, also at Jwaneng, and it was 446 carats and this is the first they unearthed more than 1000 carats,” Mr Moagi said.