Huge Diamond Found in Africa

One whopper of a diamond was unearthed this month at Gem Diamonds’ Letseng mine in Lsotho, a small kingdom inside South Africa. The company announced the 478-carat rough gem has the potential to become one of the largest round-cut diamonds in the world. My hands are shaking…

The diamond, which has not yet been named, is the 20th largest ever to be mined and could yield a 150-carat polished stone of the highest quality. That would dwarf the 105-carat round-cut Koh-i-Noor diamond seized by Britain from India in the 19th century, which is now part of the Crown Jewels.

Gem Diamonds reports that two bigger stones - 603 and 493 carats - were found in the same mine in 2006 and 2007, respectively and a 601-carat diamond was mined there in 1960. Good grief!

Clifford Elphick, Gem Diamonds’ chief executive said, "Letseng continues to reward its shareholders with the production of these significant diamonds and to confirm its position as one of the great mines in the diamond industry. With a further 45 years of life remaining, we expect Letseng to make history for many years to come." Indeed.

We'll be tracking the progress of this little beauty to see if things shape up as expected. It beats following the stock market.