Karowe is a kimberlite diamond mine in the Letlhakane area of central Botswana, operated by the Canadian-listed company Lucara Diamond Corp. since first commercial production in 2012. Karowe has become one of the world's most consistent producers of large, high-quality Type IIa diamonds, including several of the largest gem-quality diamonds recovered in modern history. The mine's operational profile sits between the broader Botswana production of De Beers and Debswana and the very different artisanal landscape elsewhere in Africa.

Geological setting

Karowe operates the AK6 kimberlite pipe, one of a cluster of kimberlite intrusions in the Orapa-Letlhakane-Damtshaa belt of central Botswana. The pipe is broadly contemporaneous with other Botswana producers and shares the eastern Kalahari kimberlite cluster, but its diamond population differs in distribution: Karowe yields a greater proportion of large stones and a higher proportion of Type IIa material than is typical of the regional production. The reasons for this distribution are still subject to research and reflect both the source mantle conditions of the diamonds and the kimberlite's emplacement and erosion history.

Notable recoveries

Karowe has produced a sustained sequence of major recoveries since 2015 that have given the mine a singular reputation in the modern trade:

• The Lesedi La Rona, a 1,109-carat Type IIa rough recovered in November 2015, the largest gem-quality diamond recovered in over a century at the time of discovery, sold to Graff Diamonds in 2017 and cut into the 302.37-carat Graff Lesedi La Rona among other stones.
• The Constellation, an 813-carat rough recovered in November 2015, sold to a partnership of Nemesis International and de Grisogono for what was at the time a record per-carat rough price.
• The Sewelô, a 1,758-carat coated stone recovered in April 2019, the largest diamond recovered in Botswana and the second-largest gem-quality diamond ever found, partnered with Louis Vuitton in 2020.
• The 549-carat Sethunya, recovered in 2021.
• The 1,174-carat rough recovered in 2021.
• A 2,492-carat rough recovered in August 2024, currently the second-largest gem-quality diamond ever recovered.

These recoveries have given Karowe a profile in the trade that exceeds the mine's overall carat-volume share of world production. Lucara has invested in Mega Diamond Recovery technology, including XRT (X-ray transmission) sorting equipment that can recover large stones intact rather than crushing them in conventional processing - a critical operational decision that has supported the consistent recovery of stones above 100 carats.

Trade and market position

Karowe sells rough through a combination of regular tenders, partnership arrangements with major jewellers and auction processes for the largest stones. Lucara established the Clara Diamond Solutions blockchain-based digital marketplace in 2018 to handle smaller production, while the largest stones continue to move through bespoke channels including direct sale to high-end jewellery houses. The mine's product is heavily Type IIa, low in nitrogen, and disproportionately suited to colourless and large fancy-shape cutting.

For the working trade Karowe matters as the principal modern source of very large gem-quality diamond rough and as one of the few mines whose stones, even when re-routed through cutting and faceting, can be tied back to identifiable origin through provenance documentation. Botswana origin in itself carries some marketing weight, particularly given the country's stable institutional environment, but Karowe's reputation rests primarily on the size and quality of its production.