Perth, Western Australia--Lucapa sold the 404.2-carat diamond uncovered at the Lulo mine in Angola last month for $16 million.
Its sale price of $39,580 per carat is a record price for a white diamond found at the site.
The diamond also holds a few other records, according to Lucapa.
The Type IIa, D color stone is the largest recorded diamond ever found in Angola, recovered from alluvial mining block 8 at the Lulo Mine.
It is the 27th largest known diamond in the world, and the biggest diamond ever discovered by an Australian mining company.
The stone is also the fourth 100-plus-carat diamond recovered from Lulo to date, as well as the 114th largest “special” diamond, meaning it weighs more than 10.8 carats, found at the mine.
The Lulo project is a partnership between Lucapa, Endiama, which is the national mining company of Angola, and Rosas and Pétalas.
Lucapa is the operator with a 40 percent interest in mining operations, followed by Endiama (32 percent) and Rosas and Pétalas (28 percent).
Alluvial mining operations at Lulo began in 2015.
“The sale of a single diamond for $16 million underlines the huge potential of the Lulo diamond field to regularly produce gems that are both large and of world-class quality,” Lucapa CEO Stephen Wetherall said. “We look to the future with tremendous excitement at Lulo as we continue mining these exceptional alluvial diamond areas, growing our alluvial mining capability and advancing the kimberlite exploration program to locate the primary source or sources of these gems.”
