Diamond miner recovers 507-carat diamond at Cullinan mine
02/11/2009
Johan Dippenaar holding a 507-carat white diamond
Petra Diamonds Ltd, the international diamond mining group, has announced the recovery of a spectacular 507.55-carat white diamond at the Cullinan mine in South Africa.
This spectacular gemstone was recovered on September 24 and is currently with experts for analysis. Initial examinations indicate that it is of exceptional colour and clarity, and is most likely a Type II diamond. Further details, including colour grading and clarity, will be released once the diamond has undergone appropriate analysis.
The diamond was recovered in the same production run along with three other special white stones of similar colour and clarity – a large diamond of 168 carats and two other diamonds of 58.5 carats and 53.3 carats.
The 507-carat diamond, which has yet to be named, is considered to be among the top 20 largest high-quality rough diamonds ever found worldwide and ranks alongside other illustrious diamonds recovered at the celebrated Cullinan mine. Cullinan has a special place in the history of diamonds as the source of the world’s largest diamond ever recovered, the Cullinan, at 3,106 carats rough.
