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A model holds a white diamond weighing nearly 500 carats in this undated handout photograph released in London on September 21, 2008. [Agencies]
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Miners in the southern African kingdom of Lesotho have found one of the world's largest diamonds, a near-flawless white gem weighing nearly 500 carats, mining group Gem Diamonds said on Sunday.
The diamond was discovered in the Letseng Mine on September 8, the company said in a statement. It has been analyzed by experts in Antwerp and found to weigh 478 carats, with very few inclusions and of outstanding color and clarity.
"It has the potential to yield one of the largest flawless D color round polished diamonds in history," the company said.
Letseng is one of the most productive mines in history -- four of the world's 20 largest rough diamonds have been found at the mine, including the three largest found this century.
Before it is cut into gems it is hard to value the diamond, but a spokesman for Gem Diamonds said a similar weight stone with lesser-quality color and clarity had recently sold for $12 million (around 5.5 million pounds).
"Preliminary examination of this remarkable diamond indicates that it will yield a record breaking polished stone of the very best color and clarity," Clifford Elphick, the chief executive of Gem Diamonds, said in a statement.
The minister for natural resources in Lesotho praised the productivity of the mine, one of the highest in the world at more than 3,000 meters (10,000 feet).
"Once again Letseng has proved its ability to produce extraordinary diamonds and continues to place Lesotho at the forefront of diamond producing countries," Monyane Moleleki said in a statement.
The world's largest diamond is the Cullinan, discovered in South Africa in 1905. It weighed more than 3,100 carats before it was cut into more than one hundred separate gems, many of which are part of the British crown jewels.
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(Agencies)
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（英國）杰姆鉆石公司于上周日稱，日前他們在非洲南部的萊索托王國發現了一顆世界上最大的鉆石。這顆白鉆近乎無暇，重近500克拉。
杰姆鉆石公司在一份聲明中稱，這顆鉆石于本月8日在萊索托的萊特森礦發現。經（比利時）安特衛普的專家們鑒定，這顆鉆石重達478克拉，含極少雜質，色澤和純凈度都極佳。
據該公司介紹：“它有望被打造成歷史上最大的、無暇D級色澤圓形拋光鉆石之一。”
萊特森礦是歷史上產量最高的鉆石礦之一。目前全球20顆最大的原鉆中有四顆產自這里，其中有三顆發現于本世紀。
鉆石在切割前很難估價，但據杰姆鉆石公司的一位發言人介紹，一顆類似重量、色澤和純凈度稍遜的鉆石最近以1200萬美元（550萬英鎊）的價格售出。
公司首席執行官克里福德?艾爾菲克在一份聲明中說：“初步鑒定結果表明，這顆鉆石拋光后，其色澤和純凈度有望達到破紀錄的等級。”
萊特森礦海拔3000多米（1萬英尺），是世界上地勢最高的鉆石礦之一。萊索托自然資源大臣高度評價了它的生產能力。
蒙莫尼亞內?莫萊萊基在一份聲明中說：“萊特森礦再次證明了其出產非凡鉆石的能力，并鞏固了萊索托鉆石出產大國的地位。”
目前全球最大的鉆石是1905年在南非發現的一顆名為“Cullinan”的原鉆。這顆原鉆重量超過3100克拉，之后被切割成100多顆小鉆，其中很多被用在了英國女王的王冠上。
（英語點津姍姍編輯）
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