Miners in Canada unearth diamond the size of a chicken egg, largest ever in North America
- The discovery is the seventh-biggest this century and would be among the 30 largest stones ever unearthed
The largest diamond ever discovered in North America was unearthed in October, Canadian mining company Dominion Diamond Mines announced.
Weighing in at 552 carats, the yellow diamond was recovered at the Diavik Diamond Mine, located in Northern Canada about 220km (135 miles) south of the Arctic Circle.
Bloomberg News reported that the largest gems were typically found in mines in southern African, and that this discovery was the seventh-biggest this century.
The stone was apparently the size of a chicken egg.
“Abrasion markings on the stone’s surface attest to the difficult journey it underwent during recovery, and the fact that it remains intact is remarkable,” the release read.
Dominion Diamond Mines, which calls the gemstone “astonishing”, noted that the previous North American record was held by the “Diavik Foxfire” – a 187.7-carat gem-quality diamond recovered in the same mine by the Rio Tinto Group.