One of the world's largest diamonds ever found - a rough stone weighing 2,492 carats - has been found in Botswana, the Canadian mining company that discovered the gem said.
The diamond was found at the Karowe diamond mine in northeastern Botswana, about 430 km from the capital Gaborone, Lucara Diamond Corp said in a statement.
Lucara did not specify the value of the find, nor its quality, AFP reported.
Carat-wise, the stone appears to be not far behind the largest gem-quality diamond ever mined, the 3,016.75-carat Cullinan diamond discovered in South Africa in 1905.
"We are ecstatic about the discovery of this exceptional 2,492-carat diamond," company president and CEO William Lamb said in a statement.
The find is "one of the largest rough diamonds ever discovered" and was discovered using the company's Mega Diamond Recovery X-ray technology, the statement said.
President Mokgwezi Masisi is due to view the huge stone later today.
Botswana is one of the largest producers of diamonds in the world, which is the main source of income for the country.
Before the announced find, the largest diamond recovered in Botswana was a 1,758-carat stone mined by Lucara in 2019 and named Sevelo. | BGNES
