THE Letšeng diamond mine in Lesotho yielded up another of its rare treasures, according to its owner, GEM Diamonds, following recovery of a 100.5 carat top white colour Type IIa stone. The recovery is the eleventh diamond of over 100 carats in 2018, the firm said.
GEM said in April that strong demand for high-quality white rough diamonds from Letšeng had increased its average realised diamond price by 48% in the March quarter, bringing in $3,276 per carat over the three months.
The strong uptick in realised prices was aided by the sale of the Lesotho Legend over the quarter – a high-quality 910-carat, D-Colour Type IIa diamond – which was sold on 12 March for $40m, or $43,912 per carat.
This was the second-largest gem-quality diamond recovered in the past century and the largest diamond recovered to date at the Letšeng mine.
