Lucara Recovers one of World's Biggest Pink Diamonds
July 14, 21
(IDEX Online) - Lucara has recovered a huge fancy pink Type IIa diamond - weighing 62.7 carats - from its Karaowe mine, in Botswana.
The Canadian miner said it was one of the world's largest rough pink diamonds on record.
It was recovered from direct milling of ore sourced from the EM/PK(S) unit of the mine's South Lobe, along with three other large fancy pinks of similar quality - weighing 22.1 carats, 11.17 carats and 5.05 carats.
The largest of the four stones, measuring 26x17x16mm, (pictured) has been named Boitumelo, which means "Joy" in Setswana, the native language of Botswana.
In October 2020 a 14.83-carat vivid-purple-pink diamond - cut from a 27.85-carat rough - fetched $26.6m. It was recovered by Alrosa and sold by Sotheby's.
The Karowe mine hit the headlines just three weeks ago, with the announcement of an enormous 1,174-carat clivage diamond measuring 77x55x33mm and described as being "of variable quality with significant domains of high-quality white gem material."
Eira Thomas, Lucara CEO, commenting on the new recovery of four pink gems, said: "These remarkable pink diamonds join a collection of significant diamond recoveries in 2021 produced from the EM/PK(S) which forms a key economic driver for the proposed underground mine at Karowe."