Botswana President Mokgweetsi Masisi gasped in astonishment at the sight of the world's second-largest diamond as he held the 2,492-carat stone with both hands. Visibly amazed at the size of the rough diamond, Masisi exclaimed, "God is good!" as he went on to look at the extraordinary discovery made at Botsawana's Karowe mines earlier this week.
At the unveiling ceremony held at his office on Thursday, August 22, the Botswana president showed off the fist-sized stone, which was unearthed by a Canadian mining company Lucara Diamond Corporation. The diamond is said to be the largest one found since a 3,106-carat diamond was dug out in 1905 in South Africa.
Expressing his admiration for the massive stone, Masisi said that he was lucky to have seen the extraordinary find in his time. In the video of the special ceremony, Masisi can be seen sitting with his eyes closed as an official places the diamond on his hands. As he opens his eyes, he looks astonished at the size of the diamond and says 'God is good'. His reaction is now going viral on the internet.
"I can see roads being built, I see hospitals, and I can see kids going to school," he added, as he appreciated the rough stone.
The rare gem has been valued at $40 million and is believed to be "one of the largest rough diamonds ever unearthed".
Lucara Diamond Corporation detected and unearthed the diamond using the company’s Mega Diamond Recovery (MDR) X-ray Transmission (XRT) technology, which was designed in 2017 to "identify and preserve large, high-value diamonds." In 2021, Lucara had found a 1,174-carat diamond in Botswana using the same X-ray technology.
The largest diamond, 3,106-carat Cullinan Diamond, found in 1905 was cut into smaller stones, some of which were used in the British royal family’s crown jewels.
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