Gem Diamonds has unearthed a 212.91-carat rough from its Letšeng mine in Lesotho, its 13th stone over 100 carats so far this year.
The miner discovered the high-quality, type II diamond on September 19, it said Monday. It found the stone less than two weeks after it recovered a 126.21-carat rough, marking its fifth retrieval of that caliber in just over a month. On September 1, the company found a 122.20-carat stone, while on August 23, it added a 129.71-carat rough to its stable of large stones. Meanwhile, it dug up a 145.55-carat diamond on August 3.
The company has attributed the greater number of large diamonds it has been retrieving this year to operational initiatives it has implemented at its processing plant, which enable it to recover large stones with less breakage. The miner has not seen such a high total of stones over 100 carats since the 16 it recovered in 2020. In 2021, it produced six, while in both 2022 and 2023, it unearthed only four.
Gem Diamonds expects total output for 2024 to reach 98,000 to 101,000 carats, while sales volume will total between 100,000 and 103,000. That forecast, which is higher than the miner’s original outlook, is due to the higher number of large rough it has recovered.
Image: The 212.91-carat rough stone. (Gem Diamonds)
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