Gem Diamonds, with offices in the United Kingdom and Belgium owns the Letšeng Diamond mine in Lesotho and the Ghaghoo mine in Botswana. Year on year those operations produce a number of delightfully large, white, exceptional rough crystals.
2020 was a banner year for Gem Diamonds, yielding 16 gem-quality diamonds weighing 100 carats or more. Most of those were recovered in the final four months of the year, once operations resumed following a pandemic lockdown. Six diamonds weighing over 100 carats were recorded in 2021 and, while that was a far cry from 2020, it’s still wonderful yield for a pair of diamond mines.
What happens this year?
In 2020 six diamonds weighing 100 carats or more were recovered in just 10 weeks (30 August – 13 November). Gem Diamonds already has four on the books this year, with a fifth missing that mark by only 0.64 carats. What happens in the remaining 16 weeks of 2022? Will they equal or surpass 2021? Will they approach 2020?
2022 So Far…
1. An exceptional white Type II diamond of 99.36 carats recovered at Letšeng on 5 April 2022
2. A high quality white diamond of 129 carats recovered at Letšeng on 23 May 2022
3. A top quality white diamond of 125 carats recovered at Letšeng on 31 May 2022
4. An exceptional quality 245 carat white Type II diamond recovered at Letšeng on 11 June 2022
5. A high quality 114 carat Type I white diamond was recovered at Letšeng on 16 July 2022
Notable Gem Diamonds from 2021
- 101 carat high quality white type II diamond recovered at Letšeng on 13th November 2021
- 102 carat Type II white diamond, recovered at Letšeng on 15 October 2021
- 245 carat Type II white diamond, recovered at Letšeng on 15 October 2021
- 367 carat Type II white diamond, recovered at Letšeng on 7 May 2021
- 254 carat Type II white diamond recovered at Letšeng on 29 April 2021
- 146.9 carat high quality Type II white diamond recovered at Letšeng on 7 January 2021
Notable Gem Diamonds from 2020
- 179 carat Type 1 diamond recovered at Letšeng on 26 November 2020
- 104 carat white diamond recovered at Letšeng on 8 November 2020
- 111.99 carat Type I yellow diamond recovered at Letšeng on 16 October 2020
- 166 carat Type II white diamond recovered at Letšeng on 18 September 2020
- 233 carat Type IIa white diamond recovered at Letšeng on 30 August 2020
- 442 carat Type IIa white diamond recovered at Letšeng on 19 August 2020
- 183 carat Type IIa white diamond recovered at Letšeng on 3 February 2022
In total, there were 16 diamonds weighing over 100 carats recovered in 2020.
The World’s Most Valuable Mine
The Letšeng mine in Lesotho, renowned for large, exceptional white diamonds, produces the highest average dollar per carat of all kimberlite diamond mines in the world. What will happen there and in Botswana in 2022? Will they surpass 2021? Will they approach 2022?
We’ll be watching.
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