Miners in Angola have unearthed a rare pure pink diamond believed to be the largest diamond discovered in the world in 300 years, the Australian mining company that runs the site announced Wednesday.
The 170-carat diamond was called the “Lulu Rose”, after the mine in northeastern Angola where it was extracted.
Lucaba Diamonds said in a statement to investors that it is one of the largest pink diamonds ever discovered.
The Angolan government partner in the mine welcomed the “historic” discovery of this diamond, which is of a type that includes rare and pure stones.
Angolan Minister of Mineral Resources Diamantino Azevedo said, “This record-breaking stunning pink diamond, which was mined in Lulu, demonstrates once again the importance of Angola in the world in the field of diamond mining,” according to “AFP”.
Although the “Lulu Rose” will still need to be cut and polished to achieve its full value – a process in which the stone can lose 50 percent of its weight – similar pink diamonds have fetched record prices at auctions in the past.
In 2017, the 59.6-carat Pink Star (Pink Star) diamond was sold at an auction in Hong Kong for $71.2 million, and to this day remains the most expensive diamond in history.