170-carat pink diamond possibly largest in 300 years | USA TODAY

An Australian mining company recovered a 170-carat pink diamond while searching for underground deposits known as kimberlite pipes.
A mining company in Angola has recovered what it says is the largest pink diamond the world has seen in 300 years. Miners discovered the 170-carat pink stone at the open pit Lulo alluvial mine in the northeast region of the southern African nation. The Australia-based Lucapa Diamond Company has named the stone “the Lulo Rose,” according to a statement.

“Only one in 10,000 diamonds is colored pink. So you’re certainly looking at a very rare article when you find a very large pink diamond,” Stephen Wetherall, CEO of Lucapa, told The Associated Press. The pink diamond will be sold via international tender by an Angolan state-owned mining company, the release said. The company recovered the stone from a riverbed, where it is searching for underground deposits known as kimberlite pipes. These deposits are the main source of diamonds, Wetherall told the Associated Press.