A little over a year ago, Lucas Ntsipe promised chief executive William Lamb that the Karowe mine in Botswana's remote region would produce something special.
The 52-year-old deputy general manager of Canadian diamond mining company Lucara Corp. reported Monday morning. “I got a call from one of our engineers saying, 'We've found something,'” Ntsipe said.
“I said, 'You're crazy. You're not telling the truth. Maybe a bottle just broke.'
Ntsipe rushed to the sorting area, where the lead sorter announced his find: a gem-quality diamond weighing a whopping 2,492 carats, the second-largest in the world.
After touching the stone through the glove box, Ntsipe relayed the news to local managing director Naseem Lari. “The eagle has landed,” he shouted into the phone. “This eagle is big and it has landed.” Lari then passed the message on to Ram.
The story dates back to the 1969 moon landing, when Neil Armstrong uttered those words. That same year, AK6 kimberlite, a diamond-rich pipe-shaped igneous rock formed by volcanic eruptions, was discovered in northeastern Botswana by De Beers, the world's largest diamond mining company.
However, De Beers, the industry monopoly at the time, did not recognize the deposit's potential, deciding that it was too small and of poor quality.
The revaluation began in 2003, and De Beers eventually sold a majority stake in the AK6 diamond project (later known as the Karowe mine) to Lucara for $49 million in 2009.
“When we did our analysis, we didn't expect to find anything major,” said Adam Lundin, son of Lucara's late founder, Lukas Lundin, “but what we found is quite special.”
Lucara subsequently bought out minority shareholders and invested $120 million to develop an open-cut mine and processing facility, which began production in 2012.
“I knew the potential this resource had,” said Lamb, who served as Lucara's managing director and CEO for 10 years and rejoined the company last year after five years of leadership by Eira Thomas were overshadowed by bloated budgets due to the $683 million underground expansion at Karowe.
The Karowe diamond mine in north-eastern Botswana. The deposit was initially rejected by De Beers as being of too low quality © Lucara Diamonds
Three years after production began, miners unearthed the 1,109-carat precious white gem known as the Lesedi la Rona, which sold for $53 million — more than Lucara had paid for De Beers' shares.
But Lesedi la Rona could have commanded a much higher price: The gem was only discovered after it was put through the mine's crushing machines, which dropped it from a height of five metres and subjected the delicate material to enormous pressure.
When it was recovered, another 374-carat gem was found that fit perfectly into the Lesedi la Rona like a jigsaw piece, suggesting that the original diamond had been split.
“The Lesedi probably weighed more than 2,000 carats before it reached the processing plant,” Lam told the Financial Times.
The uncut 1,109-carat “Lesedi la Rona” was also found at Karowe and was probably even larger before it was put through the mine's crushers © Ben Stansall/AFP/Getty Images
The failure prompted Lucara to install $17 million in X-ray transmission technology at its recovery facility, which works by recognizing and separating gemstones by their atomic density, allowing miners to capture the valuable gems before they become a threat.
The installation appears to have been prescient: People close to Lucara estimate the value of the new stone at more than $40 million; some industry veterans predict it could be worth more than $60 million.
The stone was the largest find of gem quality since the Cullinan Diamond, discovered in South Africa 120 years earlier, which was soon cut and used in the British Crown Jewels.
The British Imperial Crown, containing a fragment of the Cullinan Diamond, discovered 120 years ago in South Africa © Chris Jackson/Getty Images
The discovery has the potential to transform the diamond industry and raise the global profile of Botswana, one of the world's leading producers, by rekindling the magic, intrigue and wonder that propelled diamonds to take centre stage in the luxury world in the 20th century.
Appreciation for mined gems has declined significantly over the past decade, with competition from man-made gems and, more recently, a drop in luxury spending hitting the $83 billion diamond jewelry sector.
Lucara CEO William Lamb © Lucara
“There's never been a better time to bring attention to the diamond market,” Lam said. “We can take advantage of this to generate interest.”
For now, the rough is being kept in a high-security facility at the Diamond Technology Park in Gaborone, monitored around the clock by police and the military. “We have excessive security,” Lam added.
It's unclear where the diamond will go next, because the American Gemological Laboratory in Botswana doesn't have the equipment large enough to analyze its properties. With traditional analytical equipment, diamond cutters (those who cut, polish and fashion the rough stones) can only see 2cm inside the diamond, which is 11cm x 6cm x 6.5cm and weighs 500g, Lam said.
Mr Lam said he had already been inundated with enquiries about selling the jewels, with some suggesting that champagne would suit the colour of the gemstones. Lucara would pursue luxury brands, museums, collectors and royalty as potential buyers, he said.
British luxury brand Graff, which bought Lesedi la Rona – which means “our light” in Setswana, the language most widely spoken in Botswana – has used the stone to create a perfume named after it.
One decision to be made is what name to give the gem, likely chosen in a national contest in Botswana, as Lucara did with another discovery, the 1,758-carat Sewelo, in 2019. The name, which means “rare discovery,” was suggested by Gabane village resident Gofaone Tkhabswe, who won $3,000.
Botswana's diamond industry is a prime example of how resource extraction can benefit the local economy, accounting for 80 percent of exports and a third of government revenues while avoiding the corruption and mismanagement often referred to as the “resource curse”.
“Botswana has shown that with clear leadership and a collaborative spirit between government and industry, a country's natural resource wealth can be transformed into social and economic progress for its people,” said Rohitesh Dhawan, chief executive officer of ICMM, the international mining trade body.
Ntsipe, who used to walk seven kilometres to school and says his scholarship to Canada was funded by the diamond industry, hopes the find will help restore diamonds' luster.
“I know that children will benefit from this proceeds,” he said, adding, “We can tell people that diamonds have a story to tell.”
