LUANDA, July 27 (Xinhua) -- Sociedade Mineira Do Lulo (SML) announced Wednesday the extraction of a rare 170-carat pink diamond from its Lulo alluvial mining, believed to be the biggest pink diamond extracted in Angola in the last 300 years, the company said in a statement.
The pink stone named the "Lulo Rose" will be sold later this year through an international tender to be conducted by Angolan state-owned diamond trading firm Sodium.
The pink diamond is the fifth largest diamond from a total of 27 diamonds with more than 100 carats extracted to date in the Lulo mining project.
In 2016, the operation yielded the largest ever diamond recovered in Angola, a 404-carat white stone later named the "4th February Stone."
Angolan Minister of Mineral Resources, Oil and Gas Diamantino Azevedo said the discovery of the pink diamond continues to showcase Angola as an important player on the world stage for diamond mining and demonstrates the potential and rewards for commitment and investment in the country's growing diamond mining industry. ■