Gem Diamonds, a London-listed mining firm, has recovered a 478 carat diamond from its mine in Lesotho. That makes it the 20th-largest rough diamond ever found.
The discovery of the gem was made on Sept. 8 at the Letseng mine in Lesotho. The company said it had the potential to become one of the largest round-cut diamonds in the world.
“Our examinations indicate that it will yield a record-breaking polished stone of the very best color and clarity,” the company’s Chief Executive Clifford Elphick said in a statement.
PHOTO: AFP
The diamond, which has not yet been named, has the potential to yield a 150 carat polished stone, a company spokesman said.
That would be far bigger than the 105 carat round-cut Koh-i-Noor diamond seized by Britain from India in the 19th century and now part of the Crown Jewels.
It would still only be a fraction of the size, however, of the Cullinan diamond discovered in 1905, which was 3,106 carats when recovered and yielded a teardrop shaped diamond of 530 carats and is known as the Great Star of Africa.
(AFP)
倫敦上市採礦公司「寶石鑽石」在賴索托礦區挖到一顆四百七十八克拉的鑽石,是歷來開採到第二十大的鑽石原石。
九月八日,該公司在賴索托的賴僧礦區發現這顆寶石。該公司表示,它可望成為全球最大的圓形切割鑽之一。
該公司執行長克里夫德.艾菲克在一份聲明中說:「我們的檢驗顯示,這顆鑽石將可切割出一顆色澤和淨度都極佳的破紀錄大裸鑽。」
該公司發言人說,這顆尚未命名的鑽石,可望被琢磨成一顆一百五十克拉的裸鑽。
那將會遠大於一百零五克拉的柯伊努爾(光之山)圓鑽;英國十九世紀時從印度手中奪取該鑽,現在它成了女王皇冠上的鑲鑽之一。
然而,它的大小可能還只佔一九O五年發現的庫利南鑽石的一小部分,當時發現的原石有三千一百零六克拉,後來切割琢磨出一顆五百三十克拉的淚滴型鑽石,被稱為「非洲之星」。
(法新社�翻譯:袁星塵)
The strongest earthquake to hit Taiwan in 25 years killed at least 16 people and damaged dozens of buildings, but the destruction was largely contained thanks to decades of preparedness work. Taiwan sits on the “Ring of Fire,” an arc of intense seismic activity along the Pacific Rim, and — much like neighboring Japan — has a long history of catastrophic quakes. How does April 3 compare with other recent quakes? The April 3 earthquake, which measured 7.4 on the moment magnitude scale, was felt across Taiwan. It was the most severe since a 7.6 magnitude quake in 1999 killed
Around the time of the Dragon Boat Festival in June, the streets of Taiwan are filled with the delightful aroma of zongzi, a traditional snack made of sticky rice wrapped in leaves. The leaves are folded into a cone and then filled with sticky rice and other ingredients such as braised pork belly, peanuts and salted duck egg yolks. The filled leaves are then tightly tied with kitchen twine and ready for cooking. 每到六月端午時節,街頭巷尾就會飄出粽子的香氣。粽子是將糯米包進粽葉的傳統美食,先將粽葉折成圓錐狀塞入糯米,以及紅燒肉、花生、鹹鴨蛋黃等配料,用棉線綁緊後即可烹煮。 Dragon Boat Festival (n. phr.) 端午節 aroma
Everyone has seen a piece of fruit turn brown after being cut. Have you ever wondered why that happens? It is a common phenomenon that occurs due to a chemical reaction called enzymatic browning. The appearance, flavor and nutritional value of the fruit are all affected by this reaction. Some fruits, such as apples, pears, bananas, avocados and peaches, are more prone to enzymatic browning than others. These fruits contain high levels of an enzyme called polyphenol oxidase, or PPO for short. __1__ This causes a chain of chemical reactions that ultimately transforms the phenolic compounds into
A: As well as Eid al-Fitr, Southeast Asia is celebrating the Water Festival this week. B: And this year, Thailand is expanding the celebration between April 12 and 16 for the event, officially known as the Songkran Festival, expecting to make 24.3 billion Thai baht in tourism revenue. A: Does Taiwan celebrate the Water Festival? B: Some local cities and counties do have similar activities. A: Let’s go experience the festival then. A: 除了「開齋節」外,東南亞「潑水節」本週也盛大登場! B: 泰國今年從4月12日到16日擴大「宋干節」連假,預估觀光收入可高達243億泰銖。 A: 台灣會慶祝「潑水節」嗎? B: 有些縣市會舉辦類似活動。 A: 那我們也去體驗一下吧。 (By Eddy Chang, Taipei Times/台北時報張聖恩)