Stocks rise after discovery of massive 2,492-carat diamond
Date
8/25/2024 9:09:02 AM
(MENAFN) Shares of Lucara Diamond Corp. experienced a dramatic 91 percent surge on Thursday following the company's announcement of a remarkable 2,492-carat diamond discovery. This significant find was made at Lucara's Karowe mine in Botswana, propelling the company’s market capitalization up by approximately USD40 million to nearly USD150 million. The diamond, roughly the size of a baseball and weighing about a pound, is now recognized as the second-largest diamond ever unearthed globally. It is only slightly smaller than the Cullinan Diamond, which was discovered in South Africa in 1905 and weighed over 3,100 carats.
While a detailed appraisal of the diamond is still pending, initial expectations suggest it could be valued at tens of millions of dollars. Tobias Kormind, managing director of 77Diamonds, Europe's leading online jewelry retailer, described the discovery as the most significant in 120 years, attributing the find to advanced X-ray detection technology. This technology, developed by Lucara and in use since 2017, allows for the careful extraction of large gemstones without fragmentation. The advancement in extraction methods is seen as a key factor in the discovery of such a colossal gem, and there is speculation about the potential for finding additional large gemstones in the future.
Botswana, a major global diamond producer, plays a crucial role in the diamond industry, contributing 30 percent to its GDP and 80 percent to its exports. Before this discovery, the largest diamond found in Botswana was a 1,758-carat stone named "Sewelo," meaning "rare find" in Tswana, discovered by Lucara in 2019. The new diamond's discovery underscores Botswana's prominent position in the global diamond industry and highlights Lucara's successful mining efforts in the region.
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