diamond bigger than cullinan found
28 August 2007

A diamond twice the size of the world's largest has been found in the North West province, SABC radio news reported on Monday.

A spokesperson for the mining company involved said the diamond was excavated earlier in the day.

The world's largest diamond, the Cullinan, was discovered near Pretoria in 1905 and weighed 3106 carats.

The UK's daily The Guardian said in a report on Tuesday that the "circumstances of the discovery are shrouded in mystery. "The diamond is expected to attract furious bidding from buyers worldwide and could fetch up to £15-million," the newspaper said. It quoted Fred Cuellar, the founder of Diamond Cutters International and author of 'How to Buy a Diamond', as saying he first heard about the find a few days ago.

"The reported size of the stone is accurate, but there are all these other factors we still don't know and what matters now is how wide, how clear and how well cut it will be," Cuellar said.

The Cullinan, which was cut into several smaller stones that now adorn the British crown jewels, was thought by some to be part of a larger stone which still lies somewhere undiscovered.

Sapa and I-Net Bridge, www.business.iafrica.com