'Valueless rock' unearthed in Botswana turns out to be 'world's third largest' diamond

Botswana has unearthed the world’s third-largest diamond weighing 1,098-carat. One of the largest precious stones in terms of ‘gem quality’ was excavated at the country’s Jwaneng mine, about 75 miles from the capital, Gaborone. “The diamond which is the third-largest in the world after the first and second that was discovered in South Africa and Lucara Botswana respectively was discovered on June 1st from Jwaneng mine's South Kimberlite pipe,” the government of Botswana announced on Twitter, Wednesday. It added that the diamond is in fact the largest ever discovered in Botswana since 1967. The diamond was presented to Botswana President Dr. Mokgweetsi E.K Masisi and the cabinet in an official ceremony. 

Jwaneng Mine metallurgy assistant, Orakeng Kefentse, found the diamond after it was picked by a sealed collection bin which is part of the mine processes, the government informed on Twitter. The mine where the diamond was found is operated by Debswana, a diamond company that is jointly owned by Botswana's government and the De Beers Group, according to the official website.

“Our national development needs will in part be met by the proceeds of the diamond; we will tax the company sufficiently, they will pay royalties and remunerate their workers, and we will distribute the resources through the systems we have to develop this country,” Dr. Masisi said, according to the government’s press release.  

Botswana government also announced that it will be using the proceeds from the diamond to “advance national development in the country.” It furthermore stated that as the country moved towards participating in the fourth industrial revolution, Debswana should use their latest discovery as an inflection point, as well as for the mine to use its technology to realize more of these large discoveries. 

Minister of Mineral Resources, Green Technology and Energy Security,  Lefoko Moagi said it was rare for a gemstone of that magnitude to be discovered through a conventional ore-processing circuit.  “Normally it would not have come out as it did, it would normally have been broken up, and this is indeed a momentous occasion for Debswana, especially since the largest stone they ever discovered was in 1993, also at Jwaneng, and it was 446 carats and this is the first they unearthed more than 1000 carats,” Moagi said in a press release. He called the diamond discovery ‘important’ in boosting Botswana’s mining sector, the economy, and national development agenda. 

Miners initially thought they dug 'valueless rock'

Jwaneng Mine general metallurgical assistants Obakeng Kefentse and Phodiso Selaledi, who made the discovery, meanwhile stated that initially, they had thought that they unearthed the valueless rock to be discarded. The acting Debswana managing director, Lynette Armstrong, although recognized the stone to be one of the largest gem-quality rough diamonds ever discovered, although its exact world ranking was still to be ascertained. Armstrong called the diamond “of huge significance.” The estimate of the stone's price has not been released yet, but in speculation, it may cost somewhere close to the second-largest diamond leased La Rona’s worth which is $53m.

Speaking at State House yesterday during the official presentation of the 1 098-carat diamond, President Dr. Mokgweetsi Masisi said that the discovery of the largest diamond in history “is a symbol of what Botswana is about.”  The leader furthermore stated that this is a “unique Botswana story, the processes that we engage in, the company that enabled this- a joint collaboration between government and the private sector; the workforce from the lowest level to the highest in the chain of command, the display of humility, honesty, and integrity consistent with the values of Botswana.”