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Gem Diamonds (LSE: GEMD) announced on Monday the recovery of an exceptional quality 245 carat white Type II diamond from the Letšeng mine in Lesotho on June 11.
Following the recovery of a 129 carat diamond on 23 May, and a 125 carat diamond on 31 May, the 245 carat diamond represents the third diamond of over 100 carats recovered from the Letšeng mine within the past three weeks.
In 2021, Gem Diamonds found only six diamonds over 100 carats at Letšeng. This compares to 16 rocks of more than 100 carats discovered in 2020.
The find comes as prices for small diamonds have jumped about 20% since the start of March, as cutters, polishers and traders struggle to source stones outside Russia.
State-owned Alrosa (MCX: ALRS), the world’s top diamond producer by output, was hit with US sanctions following Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.
Since acquiring Letšeng in 2006, Gem Diamonds has found more than 60 white gem quality diamonds over 100 carats each.
