TOMRA Mining XRT technology recovers exceptional 2,492 carat diamond from Lucara’s Karowe mine
One of the largest rough diamonds in recorded history, a 2,492 carat stone, was recovered by Lucara Diamond Corp. with TOMRA X-Ray Transmission technology at the Karowe Mine in Botswana. This exceptional diamond is the latest of many impressive recoveries achieved at the mine with TOMRA's sensor-based technology since it's installation in 2017, which include the record-breaking 1,758 carat Sewelô and the 1,109 carat Lesedi La Rona.
“We at TOMRA Mining are proud to be part of Lucara’s incredible journey, with our XRT technology contributing to their historic recoveries,” says Albert du Preez, Head of TOMRA Mining. “Once again, Lucara’s innovative strategy and approach to diamond recovery, combined with TOMRA’s advanced sensor-based technology, has proved to be hugely successful. The long string of exceptional diamonds recovered at the Karowe mine with our XRT sorting solution highlights the effectiveness of our cutting-edge technology and its ability to unlock unparalleled value for kimberlite and diamond mining companies.”
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You don’t have to take our word for it, our results speak for themselves: most recently with the recovery of one of the biggest diamonds in history.
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Karowe Mine, Lucara Diamond Corp, Botswana
Eira Thomas explains the reasons for their choice of working with TOMRA: “We felt, certainly, that the technology that TOMRA offered was the best. But, more importantly, I think it was really around the approach, the attitude of collaboration and willingness to actually work with Lucara as we undertook to solve this problem, and that to us was a very appealing element because we weren’t entirely certain what the solution was going to be, we just felt that by working with a team of experts that understood the problem and had technology that could help us, we could together come up with a solution that made sense.
More diamond customer stories
1757 carat diamond recovery
TOMRA Sorting Mining is pleased to announce one of the largest diamonds in recorded history, an unbroken 1,758 carat stone, was recovered by TOMRA XRT sensor technology commissioned by Lucara Diamond Corp at its Karowe Mine in Botswana.
1757 carat diamond recoveryX-Ray Sorting at Letseng Mine, Lesotho by TOMRA
The big challenge in diamond mining is not only to find the diamonds hiding in the rock, but very importantly to extract them minimising breakages and dealing with waste effectively and cost efficiently. In recent years, X-Ray Transmission (XRT) technology has attracted increasing interest in the industry for the exceptional capability it has shown in addressing these issues with unparalleled success. The Letšeng mine in Lesotho is an excellent example of how XRT sensor-based sorting technology can unlock significant value and deliver an exceptional return on investment.
X-ray sorting at Letseng mineLucara Karowe Diamond Mine Optimizes with TOMRA Technology
Lucara Diamond Corporation owns the Karowe diamond mine in Botswana, which has been in production since 2012. The mine is recognised as one the foremost producers of very large, high-quality Type IIA diamonds in excess of 10.8 carats. Historic recoveries include the 1,109 carat Lesedi La Rona – the second-largest gem quality diamond ever found – and the 813 carat Constellation diamond. Lucara’s success at the Karowe mine continues, most recently with rare gem quality blue and pink diamonds recovered in September 2019.
Read more about the remarkable diamond recoveriesStornoway Diamonds Renard Mine Implements TOMRA Solutions
Stornoway Diamonds is a leading Canadian diamond exploration and producing company. It owns and operates the Renard Mine, in commercial production operation since 2017. It is the first diamond mine in Québec and one of six in Canada. Renard Mine started with an open-pit mine and subsequently opened an underground mine.
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