Tanzanian mine worker Saniniu Kuryan Laizer is a millionaire after finding two precious Tanzanite stones. The specimens are the largest ever discovered in the country, said Minister of Mines Dotto Biteko. The 52-year-old Laizer sold the stones to the government for 7.7 billion Tanzanian shillings (2.9 million euros) – according to experts, a ridiculous price.
SN / WHAT (AFP) / FILBERT RWEYEMAMU
Saniniu Kuryan Laizer dug the gems out by hand
Laizer had found the stones weighing around nine and five kilograms in the northern Mirerani hills. The area was fenced in in 2018 by President John Magufuli to stop the gem from being smuggled. The gems would not be sold on the market, but should be handed over to the National Museum, the government reported. Laizer had dug out the gems by hand, leaving them intact.
The new millionaire doesn’t just want to keep the money to himself. “I want to build a mall in Arusha and a school near where I live,” he said.
Tanzanite was first found in 1967. The Tanzanian region of Manyara in front of Kilimanjaro is the only known region where the violet-blue shimmering gemstone occurs.
Those: Apa / Ag.
–
–
–
Accessed on 06/27/2020 at 10:54 a.m. on https://www.sn.at/panorama/international/minenarbeiter-in-tansania-nach-edelstein-fund-millionaer-89391919
–
