VOA新闻杂志2024--Biggest Diamond in 100 Years Discovered in Botswana

Miners in Botswana recently unearthed¹ what officials say is the second largest diamond in mining history. The country's president Mokgweetsi Masisi presented the large stone to the public at a ceremony last week.

The 2,492-carat gem² is the biggest diamond to be discovered since 1905. The diamond weighs around a half-kilogram. Masisi was one of the first people to get to hold it.

He expressed surprise at the diamond's heaviness and told the gathering³, "I am lucky to have seen it in my time."

Lucara Diamond, a Canadian mining company, found the stone. Company officials said it was too early to value the gem or decide how it would be sold. A smaller uncut diamond from the same mine in Botswana sold for a record $63 million in 2016.

Naseem Lahri is a director with Lucara's Botswana team. "This is history in the making," she said of the new find. "I am very proud. It is a product of Botswana."

Lucara said in a statement last week that the company recovered what it called an "exceptional⁴" diamond from Karowe Mine in central Botswana. Company miners used X-ray technology that is designed to find large, high-value diamonds.

"We are ecstatic about the recovery of this extraordinary 2,492-carat diamond," Lucara President and chief William Lamb said in a statement.

The weight would make it the largest diamond found in 119 years.

It also is the second-largest diamond ever mined, after the Cullinan Diamond. That 3,106-carat stone was unearthed in South Africa in 1905. The Cullinan was the source of several famous cut gems⁵, including some among the British Crown Jewels.

Botswana, a country of 2.6 million people in southern Africa, is the second-biggest producer of natural diamonds behind Russia.

The Karowe Mine has produced four other diamonds over 1,000 carats in the last decade.

Before this discovery, the Sewelo diamond, which was found at the Karowe Mine in 2019, was recognized as the second-biggest mined diamond in the world at 1,758 carats. French fashion business Louis Vuitton bought the diamond. The sale price was not publicized.

A British jeweler bought the 1,111-carat Lesedi La Rona diamond, also from Botswana's Karowe Mine, for $53 million in 2017. A Karowe diamond named The Constellation⁶ is the holder⁷ of the record $63 million sales price.

Diamonds form when carbon atoms are pushed close together by intense pressure conditions deep underground. Scientists say most diamonds are at least a billion years old and some of them more than 3 billion years old.

Words in This Story

carat - n. a unit of weight for precious stones that is equal to about 200 milligrams

ecstatic - adj. describes a state of overwhelming⁸ emotion

extraordinary - adj. going beyond what is usual, regular

fashion - n. the prevailing style during a particular time

1 unearthed   

出土的（考古）

参考例句：

• Many unearthed cultural relics are set forth in the exhibition hall. 展览馆里陈列着许多出土文物。
• Some utensils were in a state of decay when they were unearthed. 有些器皿在出土时已经残破。

2 gem   

n.宝石，珠宝；受爱戴的人 [同]jewel

参考例句：

• The gem is beyond my pocket.这颗宝石我可买不起。
• The little gem is worth two thousand dollars.这块小宝石价值两千美元。

3 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。

4 exceptional   

adj.优越的，杰出的，例外的，独特的，异常的

参考例句：

• He is a man of exceptional talent.他是位具有非凡才能的人。
• He showed exceptional musical ability.他显示出特殊的音乐才能。

5 gems   

growth； economy； management； and customer satisfaction 增长

参考例句：

• a crown studded with gems 镶有宝石的皇冠
• The apt citations and poetic gems have adorned his speeches. 贴切的引语和珠玑般的诗句为他的演说词增添文采。

6 constellation   

n.星座n.灿烂的一群

参考例句：

• A constellation is a pattern of stars as seen from the earth. 一个星座只是从地球上看到的某些恒星的一种样子。
• The Big Dipper is not by itself a constellation. 北斗七星本身不是一个星座。

7 holder   

n.持有者，占有者；(台，架等)支持物

参考例句：

• The holder of the office of chairman is reponsible for arranging meetings.担任主席职位的人负责安排会议。
• That runner is the holder of the world record for the hundred-yard dash.那位运动员是一百码赛跑世界纪录的保持者。

8 overwhelming   

adj.势不可挡的，压倒的，无法抵抗的

参考例句：

• The flood was overwhelming and the city was soon drowned.洪水来势凶猛，很快这个城市就被淹没了。
• The act was adopted by an overwhelming majority.该法案以压倒多数通过。