Spectacular £30 million diamond found at Letsing

Yet to be given a name, the 910 carat colourless diamond is roughly the size of a cricket ball and is the largest ever found at Letsing. It is also the fifth largest to be extracted in history and its discovery sent shares in Gem Diamonds soaring following a difficult couple of years where the world famous mine has struggled for major finds and wrestled with a fall in prices.

Some of the most significant diamonds ever discovered have come out of Letsing, including the 603 carat Lesotho Promise and two recently discovered 117 carat diamonds, but this latest discovery, a Type IIa diamond containing very little or no nitrogen atoms, puts Letsing back in the top league of world mines for diamond size and quality.

Newest and biggest Letsing 910-carat diamond 

1109-carat Lesedi La Rona found in Botswana in 2015

Clifford Elphick, Gem Diamonds CEO, said: “Since Gem Diamonds acquired Letšeng in 2006, the mine has produced some of the world’s most remarkable diamonds, including the 603 carat Lesotho Promise, however, this exceptional top quality diamond is the largest to be mined to date and highlights the unsurpassed quality of the Letšeng mine.

“This is a landmark recovery for all of Gem Diamonds’ stakeholders, including our employees, shareholders and the government of Lesotho, our partner in the Letšeng mine," he said.

In 2015, the 1,109-carat Lesedi La Rona was discovered in Botswana by Canadian miner Lucara Diamond Corp. It sold in 2017 for more than £35 million though the smaller 813-carat Constellation found at the same time sold for more.

Assuming there are no large inclusions running through the diamond, the sales estimate is around $40 million or £30 million, Liberum's Richard Knights told the Financial Times.