Historic 910ct. Diamond Unearthed at Let??eng

RAPAPORT... Gem Diamonds has recovered a 910-carat diamond from its Let??eng mine in Lesotho, claiming it's the fifth-largest rough ever found. "This is a landmark recovery for all of Gem Diamonds' stakeholders, including our employees, shareholders and the government of Lesotho, our partner in the Let??eng mine," said Gem Diamonds CEO Clifford Elphick. The D-color, type IIadiamond is the largest to be unearthed at Let??eng, outranking the 603-carat Lesotho Promise the mining company recovered in 2006. That stone was sold for $12.4 million, or $20,498 per carat, to Graff Diamonds, which owns a 15% stake in Gem Diamonds. Last year, Graff bought the 1,109-carat Lesedi la Rona, the second largest rough diamond in history, for $53 million, or $47,790 per carat. The discovery follows a recent revival of big-stone recoveries at Let??eng, which is known for its high-value production. Earlier this month, Gem Diamonds extracted twoD-color stones from the mine, weighing 117 and 110 carats. Last year the companyrecovered seven diamonds weighing 100 carats or more.Image: Gem Diamonds