August 2024
Lucara Recovers 2,492-Carat Diamond at Karowe — Second-Largest Ever Found
Lucara Diamond Corporation announced in August 2024 the recovery of an exceptional 2,492-carat rough diamond from its Karowe mine in Botswana — the second-largest gem-quality rough diamond ever found, surpassed only by the 3,106-carat Cullinan recovered in South Africa in 1905. The stone was recovered intact using the mine's Mega Diamond Recovery X-ray technology, designed specifically to identify large stones before they can be damaged in processing.
Lucara, which operates Karowe under a partnership with the Botswana government, had previously recovered the 1,758-carat Sewelô and the 1,109-carat Lesedi La Rona from the same deposit — both among the largest diamonds ever found. The company's XRT scanning and block cave mining methodology has proven uniquely effective at recovering large, intact stones, and the discovery prompted immediate speculation about the gem's ultimate cutting plan, potential record auction value, and whether any portion might be retained as a museum piece.