Christian pastor discovers a giant 706-carat diamond in Sierra Leone which could be the 10th largest EVER found and worth more than £50 MILLION Emmanuel Momoh found the precious stone in the eastern Kono region It will be sold by a 'transparent' bidding process but may leave the country Expert Paul Zimnisky said it is impossible to value the rare gem at this stage A Christian pastor working in a Sierra Leone mine has found a 706-carat diamond, which could be the tenth largest ever found. The precious stone was found by Emmanuel Momoh, who was working in the Kono region, in the east of the country. It will be sold in Sierra Leone in a 'transparent' bidding process to benefit the country, according to a government statement. It read: 'A 706-carat diamond was presented to President Dr Ernest Bai Koroma yesterday evening. 'Receiving the diamond President Koroma thanked the chief and his people for not smuggling the diamond out of the country.' Diamond expert Paul Zimnisky said it could be 'between the 10th and 15th largest gem-diamonds ever recovered' and such a find is very rare in a small mine. He said: 'Most recent exceptional diamond discoveries have been made by large commercial miners that mine very large volumes of kimberlite ore and process it with advanced equipment. 'Artisanal mining tends to produce smaller, lower quality diamonds because the diamonds suffer breakage and erosion.' Zimnisky said the stone would likely be sold outside Sierra Leone, despite the government's assertion, for better access to buyers. Without a professional assessment of the diamond's potential flaws and colouring it is impossible to value the stone. However, a polished stone cut from the Jonker, which is the 10th largest gem-diamond ever recovered until now at 726 carats, will go on sale in Hong Kong in May. A single 25-carat portion is likely to sell for $2.2 million to $3.6 million (£1.78 million to £2.75 million), or $88,000 to $144,000 for a single carat, Zimnisky said. A 1,111-carat diamond was discovered at a mine in Botswana in 2015, the biggest find for more than a century. That gem is second in size only to the Cullinan diamond which was unearthed in South Africa in 1905, at 3,106 carats uncut, according to the Cape Town Diamond Museum. The Cullinan was cut into several gems, including two set into the sceptre and crown of the British Crown Jewels. Historically, Sierra Leone has had a controversial role in the diamond industry. The sale of 'blood diamonds' helped finance civil wars across Africa in the 1990s and often funded military dictatorships on a continent that the London Diamond Bourse estimates provides 65 percent of the world's diamonds. Rebels allowed traders to exploit diamond mines and ship the gems abroad via Liberia. In one of the most notorious cases, former Liberian warlord Charles Taylor was found guilty of supporting the rebels in exchange for diamonds mined by slave labour. The district where the 706-carat diamond was discovered is where US-Belgian businessman Michel Desaedeleer, accused of enslavement and diamond trafficking during Sierra Leone's civil war, is alleged to have committed his crimes. He died in jail in September before he could stand trial. The death toll from Sierra Leone's civil war is estimated at 120,000. The country has a population of roughly six million people, making it one of Africa's deadliest conflicts in recent history. Arabic: يكتشف قيراط 706 العاشر "أكبر الماس": تبلغ قيمتها أكثر من £ 50 مليون: الأحجار الكريمة في كونو Bulgarian: Открива 706 карата 10-най-големият диамант: стойност повече от £50 милиона: скъпоценен камък в Коно Chinese Simplified: 发现了 706 克拉 10 最大的钻石︰ 值得多英镑 5000 万︰ 宝石在科诺 Chinese Traditional: 發現了 706 克拉 10 最大的鑽石︰ 值得多英鎊 5000 萬︰ 寶石在科諾 Czech: Zjistí 706 karát 10. největší diamant: více než 50 milionů liber: drahý kámen v Kono Dutch: Ontdekt een 706 karaat 10e grootste diamant: ter waarde van meer dan 50 miljoen £: edelsteen in Kono Filipino: Nadiskubre ng isang 706 karat ika-10 pinakamalaking Diamond: nagkakahalaga ng mahigit sa £50 milyong: batong-hiyas sa Kono French: Détecte un Carat 706 10ème plus gros diamant : une valeur de plus de £ 50 millions : pierre précieuse à Kono German: Entdeckt ein 706 Karat 10. größte Diamant: Wert mehr als £ 50 Millionen: Edelstein im Kono Greek: Ανακαλύπτει ένα καράτι 706 10ο μεγαλύτερο διαμάντι: αξίζει περισσότερο από £50 ΕΚΑΤΟΜΜΎΡΙΣΣΑ: πολύτιμη πέτρα σε Kono Hindi: पता चलता है एक 706 कैरेट 10 सबसे बड़े हीरे: से अधिक 50 लाख पाउंड मूल्य: Kono में कीमती पत्थर Indonesian: Menemukan 706 karat berlian terbesar 10: bernilai lebih dari £50 juta: batu berharga di Kono Italian: Scopre un carato 706 10 più grande diamante: vale la pena più di £ 50 milioni: pietra preziosa in Kono Japanese: 706 カラットを発見する 10 の最大のダイヤモンド: 以上 £ 5000 万の価値がある: 河野で貴重な石 Persian: کشف 706 قیراط الماس بزرگترین دهمین: ارزش بیش از 50 میلیون پوند: سنگ های قیمتی در Kono Music: http://www.bensound.com
Visibility: 1699
Duration: 4m 28s
Rating: 8