A Tanzanian small-scale miner, who became an overnight millionaire in June for selling two rough Tanzanite stones valued at $3.4m (£2.6m), has sold another gem for $2m, BBC is reporting.
According to the report, the third discovery by Saniniu Laizer weighed 6.3kg (14lb).
According Daily Mail version of the report, before Mr Laizer dug out the chunks, the largest Tanzanite stone recorded was seven pounds.
Tanzanite is an ultra-rare gemstone found only in a small northern region of the East African nation.
The Mail further reported that last month, Mr Laizer was pictured on Tanzanian television being presented with a large cheque after the Bank of Tanzania bought the gemstones in a ceremony. President John Magufuli phoned to congratulate Laizer live on television.
‘This is a confirmation that Tanzania is rich,’ Magufuli earlier told minerals minister Doto Biteko.
Tanzania last year set up trading centres around the country to allow artisanal miners to sell their gems and gold to the government.
Artisanal miners are not officially employed by any mining companies and usually mine by hand.
Magufuli inaugurated the wall around tanzanite mining concessions in northern Tanzania in April 2018, in an attempt to control illegal mining and trading activities.
At the time he said 40 per cent of tanzanite produced there was being los
It is one of the rarest gemstones on Earth, and one local geologist estimates its supply may be entirely depleted within the next 20 years.
The precious stone’s appeal lies in its variety of hues, including green, red, purple and blue.
Mr Lazier, according to the BBC report, urged his fellow small-scale miners to work with the government, saying that his experience was a good example.
“Selling to the government means there are no shortcuts… they are transparent,” he said in his remarks at a ceremony in the northern Mirerani mine.
Artisanal miners often complain about late payments of their royalties by mine owners, the BBC’s Aboubakar Famau reports from the capital, Dodoma.
Mr Laizer in June at an auction where he sold two Tanzanite rocks for $3.4m
After his June sale of two rocks weighing 9.2kg and 5.8kg, Mr Laizer – a father of more than 30 children – told the BBC that he would hold a party.
But on Monday he said the money will be used to build a school and a health facility in his community in Simanjiro district in northern Manyara region.
He told the BBC two months ago that the windfall would not change his lifestyle, and that he planned to continue looking after his 2,000 cows, adding that he did not need to take any extra precautions despite his new-found riches.
Some small-scale miners like Mr Laizer acquire government licences to prospect for Tanzanite, but illegal mining is prevalent especially near mines owned by big companies.
In 2017, President Magufuli ordered the military to build a 24km (14-mile) perimeter wall around the Merelani mining site in Manyara, believed to be the world’s only source of Tanzanite.
A year later, the government reported an increase in revenue in the mining sector and attributed the rise to the construction of the wall.
What is Tanzanite? (Mail)
The ultra-rare gemstone Tanzanite is only found in northern Tanzania.
It is possibly the rarest mineral in the world, found in an area just 2.5 miles wide and 1.2 miles long at the foot of Mount Kilimanjaro.
The stones are priced depending on the rarity of their colour and clarity.
Tanzanite slabs are often exported to India to be polished and transformed into decorative objects.
Local geologists predict its supply could be depleted within 20 years, the BBC reported.
The gemstone was named after its country of origin by Tiffany & Co.
