Barely a week after finding the world’s fifth-biggest diamond in history, Africa-focused Gem Diamonds (LON:GEMD) has unearthed yet another massive rock at its flagship Letšeng mine in Lesotho.
The 149-carat, D colour, Type IIa rough diamond is the fourth high quality stone of over 100 carats the company has recovered so far this year at its prolific mine. Earlier in the month the miner discovered two type IIa diamonds that weighed 117 carats and 110 carats respectively.
Only last week the company announced the recovery of a 910-carat stone, the world’s fifth-biggest diamond in history, about the size of two golf balls.
Shares in Gem Diamonds jumped once again on the news, trading almost 4% up —close to 93 pence — by 4:00PM London time. Year-to-date, the stock is up a whooping 27.6%
Since acquiring Letšeng in 2006, Gem Diamonds has found about five of the 20 largest white gem quality diamonds ever recovered, which makes the mine the world’s highest dollar per carat kimberlite diamond operation.
At an average elevation of 3,100 metres (10,000 feet) above sea level, Letšeng is also one of the world’s highest diamond mines.
The biggest diamond ever found was the 3,106-carat Cullinan, dug near Pretoria, South Africa, in 1905. It was later cut into several stones, including the First Star of Africa and the Second Star of Africa, which are part of Britain's Crown Jewels held in the Tower of London. Lucara’s 1,109-carat Lesedi La Rona was the second-biggest in record, while the 995-carat Excelsior and 969-carat Star of Sierra Leone were the third- and fourth-largest.
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