Canadian company Lucara is in high heavens right now as its miners were able to unearth three exceptional stones, one of which is said to be the the largest diamond ever found in 100 years and the second biggest in history.
On Wednesday, Nov. 18, the company announced that it was able to unearth the historic tennis-ball-size gem from the south area of the company's Karowe Mine in Botswana. The 65mm x 56mm x 40mm diamond is said to have etched a mark in Botswana's history as the biggest ever discovered in the country.
Lucara said the Type IIa diamond boasts a 1,111 carat gem quality, warranting it to be the largest stone unearthed via modern processing techniques. The precious gem was retrieved via new Large Diamond Recovery XRT machines.
William Lamb, the president and CEO of Lucara said that the discovery has placed the firm among the ranks of exceptional diamond producers. He added that the importance of discovering a gem with a stone quality of more than 1,000 carats, which is the largest ever in more than 100 years, is something that cannot be amplified.
The luck of Lucara did not seem to falter as it announced in a press release on Wednesday, Nov. 18. that it found two more remarkable stones. The two gems were white diamonds, one of which is 813 carats and the other is 374 carats. Both stones were also recovered in the south lobe of the Botswana mine. Cleaning of the two stones is still in process thus, the final measurements have not yet been announced.
"We are truly blessed by this amazing asset," Lamb said. He added that it has been a wonderful week for the company, even commenting that he is at lost for words.
Lamb explained that establishing a goal of providing unprecedented value as workers dig up the south lobe of the mine, had been flawlessly scheduled with the implementation of the company's new plant changes. Such interventions were able to pave the way for the discovery of the magnificent stones.
As the stones were only recently discovered, the company has not yet finalized its marketing strategy. Lamb said, however, that it would not be the best action to sell the three diamonds all at the same time.
Particularly, pricing the largest diamond in the last century, is quite impossible at this point. According to Lamb, Lucara still needs to determine the maximum value of the gem. As the stone cannot fit in the company's own scanner, it has to be sent to Belgium, where the world's diamond polishing market is located.
Earlier in 2015, Lucara lost 26 percent of its shares listed in Toronto and Stockholm, but with the surge of recent magnificent discoveries, it soared to a whopping 32 percent, which is enough to cover for the losses.
