Saniniu Laizer, a Tanzanian miner and father of 30 children, had sold two huge gemstones for 7.74 billion Tanzanian shillings or $2.9 million at a trading event in the northern region of Manyara yesterday. The two violet-blue stones are about the size of the forearm.
The Tanzanian miner discovered the chunks in one of the tanzanite mines in the north of Tanzania, which are surrounded by a wall to control cross-border smuggling of the valuable ultra-rare mineral.
Laizer said that his lifestyle will not change and that he would continue to look after his herd of 2,000 cows. He also plans to build a shopping mall and a school in the local community, as many locals cannot afford to pay for their children's education.
"There will be a big party tomorrow," 52-year-old Laizer told BBC, who has four wives and 30 children.
Father of 30 Children Found Ultra-rare Gemstone
According to a mines ministry spokesperson, the first tanzanite gemstone weighed 20 pounds while the second weighed 11 pounds. Before this discovery last week, the heaviest tanzanite found was only seven pounds.
The gemstone is only found in a small northern region of the East African nation.
Due to its rarity and size, Laizer was featured on television and pictured with the gemstones while he was presented a large cheque after the Bank of Tanzania bought the gemstones in a ceremony yesterday.
Tanzanian miner and father-of-30 becomes overnight millionaire after digging up huge gemstones worth £2.4million pic.twitter.com/n5NpWTes02 — BIAFRA24RADIO (@BIAFRA24) June 25, 2020
Tanzania president John Magufuli phone Laizer to congratulate him live on television.
"This is a confirmation that Tanzania is rich," Magufuli said to the country's minerals minister Doto Biteko.
Last year, Tanzania has set up trading centers around the country to allow artisanal miners to sell their gems, gold, and other minerals to the government. These artisanal miners are not officially under any mining company and usually only use their hands to mine.
In order to control illegal mining and trading activities, President Magufuli inaugurated the wall around tanzanite mining concessions in northern Tanzania in April 2018. Which at that time, 40% of the tanzanite produced was being lost, President Magfufuli said.
What is Tanzanite?
Tanzanite is an ultra-rare gemstone that can only be found in northern Tanzania. Its trade name was first used by Tiffany and Company, a luxury jeweler, for gem-quality specimens of the mineral zoisite with a blue color.
The jewelry company could have sold tanzanite under the mineralogical name of "blue zoisite," but they thought that the name "tanzanite" would stimulate more interest from the customer and made it easier to market.
Furthermore, tanzanite could possibly be the rarest mineral in the world, as it can only be found in an area just 2.5 miles wide and 1.2 miles long at the foot of Mount Kilimanjaro. Its price depends on the rarity of their color and clarity.
They are commonly exported to India to be polished and transformed into decorative objects. According to local geologists, they predicted that the tanzanite supply could be depleted within 20 years.
