The 2,492-ct Eagle has Landed
August 25, 24(IDEX Online) - "This eagle is big and this eagle has landed."
That's how Lucas Ntsipe, assistant general manager at Lucara's Karowe mine, in Botswana, broke the news to his boss that they'd recovered a 2,492-carat diamond.
He got a call last Monday morning (19 August) from one of his engineers, that left him in shock.
"I said: 'You are crazy and you are not telling me the truth. Maybe it's a broken bottle'," according to a Financial Times report.
Canada-based Lucara shared news of the remarkable find in a press release the following day (20 August) and showed it to Botswana's President Mokgweetsi Masisi.
The stone - measuring measures 11cm by 6cm by 6.5cm - is reportedly too big for GIA in Botswana to handle, so it's not clear where it will be graded.
Lucara spent $17m on the X-ray transmission technology that identified the stone before it went to the crusher.
Sources indicate the stone could be worth $40m to $60m.
Pic from President Mokgweetsi Masisi's Facebook page