We come to you with an absolute stone of a tidings story . Quite literally – the humankind ’s secondly biggest ball field has been discovered in a mine in Botswana .
The raspy gem is a certified whopper at 2,492 carats – that ’s nigh half a kilo or just over a pound – and was found amongst kimberlite in the Karowe mine , in the gist of the country , during operations by diamond geographic expedition and excavation company Lucara Diamond .
It was detected and recover using technology developed by the company known as Mega Diamond Recovery X - beam Transmission , or MDR XRT .
Mining can be a high-risk process – in champ through rocks , there ’s a chance you ’ll unwittingly demolish up a worthful find . harmonise to a Lucara technologist who spoke toThe New Yorker , the MDR XRT tech functions “ like an drome baggage digital scanner ” , working to detect gems so that they do n’t get crushed .
Unsurprisingly , William Lamb , the president and CEO of Lucara , said the company was “ ecstatic ” about the find in astatement , calling the gem “ extraordinary ” .
That exhilaration is potential to be a familiar feeling for them . The caller has something of a repute for uncovering giant gems , having now bump the reality ’s second bountiful rough rhombus multiple times . Lucarauncoveredboth the 1,109 karat Lesedi La Rona and the 1,758 carat Sewelô that later criticize it off the 2d - place spot .
But neither those gems , nor the as - of - yet unnamed newly found rhomb , are a patch on the worldly concern ’s biggest ever found .
That rubric goes to theCullinan Diamond , which was excavate in a South African mine back in 1905 , and weighed a hefty 3,106 carats ( 621 gramme ) . For context , that ’s about as heavy as the heaviest NBA - stock basketballs , or around 7,692 bee ( a very scientific beat we ’re sure you ’ll harmonize ) .
While the giant stone would go on to be used for more esthetic purposes – it was cut up into various humble gems that wound up in many pieces of royal jewelry – rhomb can also recite scientist a pot about the history of the planet .
A study published last year , for good example , analyzed 650- to 450 - million - year - old,“superdeep ” diamondsmined from Brazil and Western Africa , and from their inclusions break more about how the ancient supercontinent of Gondwana was formed .
But as helpful as they are , adamant are also notoriously difficult to detect – even if Lucara ’s riches of giant discovery might make it seem otherwise . fortuitously , researchers have recently found a less popular gem that may well actas a guidepost .
