A small diamond miner who has dug some of the world’s most valuable gems from Lesotho dug up another huge stone.
Gem Diamonds said on Friday it had unearthed a 442-carat diamond at its Letseng mine.
The find comes as the global diamond industry has been brought to its knees by the pandemic.
According to Gems chief executive officer, “The recovery of the 442-carat diamond, one of the world’s largest gem-quality diamonds to be recovered this year, is further confirmation of the caliber of the Letseng mine and its ability to consistently produce large, high-quality diamonds.”
Pricing the stones is usually hard before cutters can evaluate them however the stone could sell for as much as $18 million, Edward Sterck, an analyst at BMO Capital Markets wrote in a note.
Demand for the big diamonds has traditionally been resilient given the rarity of such stones.
The Letseng mine is famous for the size and quality of the diamonds it produces and has the highest average selling price in the world.
