23 Jan 2014

Rare blue diamond discovered

9:30 pm on 23 January 2014

A mining company says it has found a rare blue diamond in South Africa.

The 29-carat diamond.

The 29-carat diamond. Photo: AFP / Petra Diamonds Limited / Philip Mostert

Petra Diamonds says the 29 carat diamond came from the Cullinan mine, near the South African capital Pretoria, and the source of some of the world's most famous diamonds.

The 530-carat Star of Africa blue diamond, which is part of the Crown Jewels in Britain, was also found at the Cullinan mine, the BBC reports.

It is estimated the new find could fetch between $US18 and $US24 million.