A unique rough diamond weighing over 230 carats was unearthed at Udacnhaya kimberlite pipe on October 19. This is the largest gem-quality specimen found by ALROSA in more than three years.
A 232.4-ct octahedron has yellowish hue and several chips. Its dimensions are 40х39х23 mm. The crystal was extracted at the processing facility N12 in Udachny.
“Such large gem-quality crystals are extremely rare. Of course, they are present at ALROSA’s deposits, but we have not seen them since 2016, when two diamonds weighing over 200 carats were mined,” said Evgeny Agureev, Deputy CEO of ALROSA.
“We look forward to seeing the stone at the United Selling Organization of ALROSA for detailed study and evaluation. This year Udachnaya pipe has brought us such a gift twice. Earlier in January, a large diamond weighing 191.46 carats was mined there,” he added.
Discovered in 1955, the Udachnaya kimberlite pipe is one of the largest primary diamond deposits in Yakutia and globally. Since the beginning of development in 1967, this deposit has brought in hundreds of large diamonds. In the first 9 months of 2019, the Udachnaya pipe produced 2.385 million carats of rough diamonds.
