News : Huge diamond could break records

Miners in Lesotho, southern Africa have found one of the world's largest diamonds, a near-flawless white gem weighing nearly 500 carats.

The company who own the diamond said it has the potential to yield one of the largest flawless D colour round polished diamonds in history.

The Letseng mine where the diamond was found, is one of the most productive mines in history.

Four of the world's 20 largest rough diamonds have been found at the mine, including the three largest found this century. The world's largest diamond is the Cullinan, discovered in South Africa in 1905.

It weighed more than 3,100 carats before it was cut into more than one hundred separate gems, many of which are part of the British crown jewels.

Hayley Platt reports.

SOUNDBITES:Diamond Expert Of WWW International Diamond Consultants, Neil Buxton.