Lucara Recovers 62.7 Carat Fancy Pink Diamond in Botswana

Another amazing feat this week for the diamond world as Canadian mining corporation Lucara announced on July 13 the recovery of a 62.7 carat pink diamond from its very own Karowe Diamond Mine located in Botswana. The gem has been given the name, Boitumelo meaning joy in Setswana, and comes in at a whooping 26 by 17 by 16 millimeters (nearly the size of a grape!)

As if finding one of the world’s largest rough of that color on record yet wasn’t impressive enough, Lucara also recovered a 22.21 carat fancy pink gem during the same production period, as well as an additional two pink gems weighing 11.17 and 5.05 carats. All have similar color and purity to the Boitumelo diamond, hinting to more future recoverings.

In a release, Lucara CEO Eira Thomas announced that the company “is delighted to announce another historic diamond with the recovery of the Boitumelo, and very pleased to demonstrate the continued potential for large, colored diamonds from the South Lobe production. These remarkable pink diamonds join a collection of significant diamond recoveries in 2021 produced from the EM/PK(S), which forms a key economic driver for the proposed underground mine at Karowe.”

The Karowe mine is one of the world’s highest-margin diamond mines and produces nearly 300,000 high-value carats each year. Year-to-date, the mine has produced 17 diamonds greater than 100 carats, including five over 300. Additionally, the Vancouver-based company locked in a $200 million debt package to help fund a five year expansion project of the mine, hoping to add growth and prosperity to the diamond ecosystem.