Botswana’s government announced on Wednesday the discovery of one of the largest diamonds ever unearthed from a mine.

The massive, 2,492-carat diamond was recovered from Karowe Mine, known for previously yielding four diamonds exceeding 1,000 carats. Botswana believes this stone to be the second-largest ever unearthed from a mine.

Karowe Mine is operated by Lucara Diamond Corp., which stated on Wednesday that it recovered the “exceptional” rough diamond using X-ray technology. Lucara described the diamond as “high-quality” and intact.

“We are thrilled with the recovery of this extraordinary 2,492-carat diamond,” Lucara president and CEO William Lamb expressed in the statement.

The 2,492-carat stone is the largest diamond found in over a century and the second-largest ever excavated from a mine, trailing only the Cullinan Diamond discovered in South Africa in 1905. The Cullinan, weighing 3,106 carats, was cut into gems, some of which are now part of the

The Botswanan government announced that the newly discovered diamond will be showcased at the office of President Mokgweetsi Masisi, who will be among the first to view it.

Botswana holds the position of the world’s second-largest diamond producer and has unearthed all of the world’s largest stones in recent years.

The 1,758-carat Sewelo diamond was extracted from Karowe Mine in 2019 and was recognized as the second-largest mined diamond globally at the time. It was sold to Louis Vuitton for an undisclosed sum.

The mine also produced the 1,111-carat Lesedi La Rona diamond, which was acquired by a British jeweler for $53 million in 2017.