Gem Diamonds Recovers Second +100-ct Stone This Year
July 03, 23
(IDEX Online) - Gem Diamonds has recovered its second +100-ct diamond of the year at its Letseng mine, in Lesotho.
The UK-based miner described it as "an impressive 163.91-carat yellow diamond".
But it will be hoping for more. Recoveries of large diamonds last year were below average - four +100-cts compared with an average since 2008 of eight per year.
So far it has recovered two this year. In March it recovered of a 122-carat D color Type II white diamond.
Full-year revenue for 2022 dipped six per cent to $188.6m. Gem Diamonds, which owns 70 per cent of the Letseng mine, in the process of selling its 100 per cent share in its other mine, Ghaghoo, in Botswana, which has been mothballed since 2019, to Botswana-based Okwa Diamonds, owned by Vast Resources.
The highest price for a Letseng diamond last year was $34,170 per carat for a 42.98- carat white diamond that sold for $1,469,000. Three other diamonds sold for over $1m during the year.
Pic courtesy Gem Diamonds shows the 163.91-carat yellow diamond