Firestone finds largest yellow diamond to date at Lesotho mine

According to Mining News Pro - The company said the stone will go on sale at the next tender, which is scheduled to take place in September.

The find follows the recovery of a 72-carat yellow, whole makeable diamond in early April, which was the second one over 70-carat Firestone has found this year at Liqhobong.

    “While Liqhobong has become known for its fancy yellow stones, this one is the largest we’ve recovered so far”
    Chief executive Paul Bosma

“Sawable” stones can be cut in half in order to create two smaller diamonds. In contrast, “makeable” ones are those whose shape allows to cut only one large diamond from it.

“The Liqhobong mine has become known for its fancy yellow stones, but this one is the largest we’ve recovered so far and is therefore quite special,” chief executive Paul Bosma said in the statement.

Bosma added that while certain segments of the diamond market were currently struggling, the demand for unique natural stones remained positive.

In March, Firestone halted plans to extend the life of the mine, as market conditions didn’t support the project.

The company spent $185 million building Liqhobong, which started production in late 2016, and boasts over 11 million carats in reserve. The total open pit resource contains over 17 million carats to a depth of 393 metres.