Relook at low-carat pipes could spring big diamond surprises

Diamond kimberlites with a very low number of carats per hundred tons have in the past tended to be passed over by diamond mine developers, but their propensity to host big Type II diamonds that sell for large sums of money is now being acknowledged. Although diamond company De Beers walked away from what is today the Karowe mine in Botswana as well as what is today the Letseng mine in Lesotho, each asset has yielded very large high-value diamonds on becoming operational, a point driven home at the eleventh International Kimberlite Conference in Botswana. (Also watch attached Creamer Media video).