Gem Diamonds and Lucara Diamond find their first diamonds in 2024

A 295-carat rough diamond was found in the Letseng mine.

Gem Diamonds said it had found a 295-carat rough stone at its Letšeng mine in Lesotho.

Africa-focused mining companies, Gem Diamonds and Lucara Diamond, have found large, high-quality Type IIa diamonds in their own operations.

Gem Diamonds said it had found a 295-carat rough stone at its Letšeng mine in Lesotho, adding to a long list of diamonds weighing more than 100 carats found during the operation over the past two years.

The prolific mine is one of the ten largest diamond operations in the world by revenue. At 3,100 meters (10,000 ft) above sea level, Letseng is also one of the highest diamond mines in the world.

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Canadian company Lucara has recovered a 166-carat ore from a rough X-ray transmission unit at its Karowe diamond mine in Botswana. The company said the gemstone came from direct grinding of ore from the southern lobe of the mine.

Lucara's latest discovery is the 328th diamond weighing more than 100 carats found at Karowe since it began operations in 2012. Chief Executive William Lamb said the recovery supports the economic case for investing in the underground expansion project to extend the life of the mine by at least . 2040.

The recoveries bring some positive news to a market suffering from persistently weak conditions, with wholesale polished diamond prices down 20% last year, taking rough diamonds down with them.