Third-largest diamond in world thought to be found in Botswana

June 17 (UPI) -- A Botswana mining company has found what it believes to be the world's third-largest diamond, a 1,098-carat gem shown off to President Mokgweetsi Masisi this week.

Debswana, a joint effort by the Botswana government and diamond mining firm De Beers, discovered the gem June 1 at the Jwaneng mine, about 75 miles outside of the capital of Gaborone. It was presented to Masisi on Wednesday, who was pictured holding it at the Botswana State House.

Masisi said proceeds from the sale of the diamond "will be used to advance national development in the country," according to a government statement on Twitter.

"Debswana should use this latest discovery as an inflection point, for the mine to use it's technology to realise more of these large discoveries."

It's the largest diamond the company has found in Botswana, though not the largest in the country's history. The second-largest diamond in the world, the Lesedi La Rona, sold for $53 million in 2017. The 1,109-carat rough stone was found in Botswana by Canadian mining company Lucara Diamond.

The largest diamond, the Cullinan diamond, was found in 1905 in South Africa and weighed 3,106 carats. It was later cut into smaller gems.