Botswana: Giant diamond with 1174 carats presented

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Giant diamond: Spectacular find in Botswana

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MONIRUL BHUIYAN / AFP

Miners have discovered another unusually large diamond in Botswana.

The white gemstone weighs 1,174 carats and is one of the largest diamonds in the world, said the managing director of the Canadian company Lucara, Naseem Lahri, in Botswana's capital Gaborone on Wednesday.

"This will make history, for us and also for Botswana," said Lahri.

Accordingly, the diamond had already been found on June 12th.

Eleven days earlier, the Debswana company had presented the third largest gemstone in the world to date.

This stone weighed 1,098 carats.

Mokgweetsi Masisi, the President of Botswana, now spoke of a "captivating moment" and highlighted the frequency of diamond finds in his country.

The largest gem-quality diamond found to date weighed 3,106 carats and was discovered in South Africa in 1905.

Parts of this diamond are contained in the British Crown Jewels.

wit / AFP