Miners in the southern African kingdom of Lesotho found a massive diamond on September 8th. The diamond was a near-flawless white gem weighing nearly 500 carats, making it one of the largest in the World.

The Letseng diamond mine is in the landlocked Southern African water and mountain kingdom of Lesotho. The mine is owned by Gem Diamonds, Ltd. and the government of Lesotho, with an elevation of 10,000 ft it is the world’s highest diamond mine.  The Letseng diamond mine is distinguished by low grade ore (less than 2 carat/hundred tons) and is known best for producing epic diamonds. The mine has the highest percentage of discovered diamonds greater than 10 carats and has yielded four of the world’s 20 largest rough cut diamonds, including the three largest found this century. Thus, Letseng has the highest dollar value per carat of any diamond mine at over $1,894 per carat, while the world average is just $81 per carat.

The value of a rough diamond is usually hard to estimate but another diamond of similar weight, lesser quality-color and clarity recently sold for $12 million bucks. "It has the potential to yield one of the largest flawless D color round polished diamonds in history," said Gem Diamons, Ltd.