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Historic 910ct. Diamond Unearthed at Letšeng
Jan 15, 2018 4:03 AM
By Rapaport News
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RAPAPORT... Gem Diamonds has recovered a 910-carat diamond from its Letšeng mine in Lesotho, claiming it's the fifth-largest rough ever found.
“This is a landmark recovery for all of Gem Diamonds’ stakeholders, including our employees, shareholders and the government of Lesotho, our partner in the Letšeng mine,” said Gem Diamonds CEO Clifford Elphick.
The D-color, type IIa
diamond is the largest to be unearthed at Letšeng, outranking the 603-carat Lesotho Promise the mining company recovered in 2006. That stone was sold for $12.4 million, or $20,498 per carat, to Graff Diamonds, which owns a 15% stake in Gem Diamonds. Last year, Graff bought the 1,109-carat Lesedi la Rona, the second largest rough diamond in history, for $53 million, or $47,790 per carat.
The discovery follows a recent revival of big-stone recoveries at Letšeng, which is known for its high-value production. Earlier this month, Gem Diamonds extracted two
D-color stones from the mine, weighing 117 and 110 carats. Last year the company
recovered seven diamonds weighing 100 carats or more.
Image: Gem Diamonds
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Tags:
910-ct, Clifford Elphick, Cullinan, diamond, Gem Diamonds, IIa diamond, Lesotho, Lesotho Promise, Letšeng, mine, Rapaport News
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