Lucara Diamond Corp recovered an unbroken 998-carat rough diamond from its Karowe diamond mine in Botswana, following a series of notable finds, the company announced recently.  

The part of the mine where the diamond was unearthed has yielded a number of sizeable rough diamonds in the past, including gem-quality stones of 273, 105, 83, 73, and 69 carats in weight. 

The recovery of the 998-carat diamond represents the second 500-plus-carat rough dug up from this area in 2020. Karowe has produced 31 diamonds of greater than 100 carats since the start of the year including 10 diamonds bigger than 200 carats. In accordance with Lucara's partnership with diamond manufacturer HB Antwerp regarding all diamonds of more than 10.8 carats produced from Karowe, both companies are evaluating the next steps to maximise the value of this rare large diamond.

Eira Thomas, CEO of Lucara, commented, "Lucara is extremely pleased with the continued recovery of large high-quality diamonds from the South Lobe of the Karowe mine. To recover two 500-plus-carat diamonds in 10 months along with the many other top-quality diamonds across all the size ranges is a testament to the unique aspect of the resource at Karowe and the mine's ability to recover large and rare diamonds."