TOMRA Sorting Mining technologies have enabled Lucara’s diamond mine in Botswana to discover an unbroken 1,758 carat stone
The diamond is the largest to be mined at Karowe to date, weighing close to 352 grams through the TOMRA XRT sensor technology.
“As the largest diamond ever recovered by a mechanical process, it reinforces the unparalleled value XRT offers kimberlite and diamond mining companies,” said Diamond Segment Manager for TOMRA Sorting Mining, Geoffrey Madderson.
Since introducing TOMRA XRT technology as the primary recovery tool to the mine in 2015, it has delivered ground breaking results.
In less than four years, TOMRA XRT has recovered two diamonds greater than 1,000 carats. This record-breaking recovery further highlights the success of TOMRA Sorting technology, which has detected four of the top ten largest diamonds in the world to date.
Madderson said Lucara’s innovative strategy in combination with TOMRA’s world-class sensor technology have proved to be an enormous success.
The TOMRA XRT technology recognizes and separates material based on its specific atomic density. It uses a cutting-edge X-Ray camera with DUOLINE® sensor technology to measure spectral absorption information.
TOMRA’s sorting’s proprietary high-speed X-Ray processing unit uses the data to produce a detailed ‘density image’ of the material and the result is a high level of purity in sorting materials, irrespective of size, the degree of moisture or surface pollution present.
In addition to the XRT circuit at Karowe, TOMRA currently operates XRT and other advanced optical sorting equipment in Russia, Canada, Brazil and other countries around the world.
