A model holds a white diamond weighing nearly 500 carats in this undated handout photograph released in London on September 21, 2008.(Photo: China Daily/Agencies)
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JOHANNESBURG, Sept. 21 (Chinese media) -- Gem Diamonds, a
London-listed mining firm, said on Sunday it had recovered a 478-carat diamond
from its mine in Lesotho: the 20th largest rough diamond ever found.
The discovery of the gem had the potential to become
one of the largest round-cut diamonds in the world, was made on September 8 at
the Letseng mine in Lesotho, the South African Press Association quoted the
company source as saying on Sunday.
"Preliminary examination of this remarkable diamond
indicates that it will yield a record-breaking polished stone of the very best
color and clarity," the company's Chief Executive Clifford Elphick said in a
statement.
The diamond, which has not yet been named, has the
potential to yield a 150-carat polished stone, a company spokesman said.
That would be far bigger than the 105-carat round-cut
Koh-i-Noor diamond seized by Britain from India in the 19th century and now part
of the Crown Jewels.
It would still only be a fraction of the size,
however, of the Cullinan diamond discovered in 1905, which was 3,106 carats when
recovered and yielding a teardrop shaped diamond of 530 carats: the Great Star
of Africa.
The Letseng mine is owned by a mining company that is
70 percent owned by Gem Diamonds, with the remaining 30 percent held by the
Lesotho government.
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