Father-of-30 miner who became an overnight millionaire digging up huge ultra-rare gemstones says he has made his THIRD multi-million-pound find in weeks
- Small-scale miner vowed to use earnings to build a school and shopping mall
- Father-of-30 handed gem stone to government officials in exchange for cheque
- Saniniu Laizer found two other chunks of the stone last month in north Tanzania
- Tanzanite is ultra rare and found only in a small region of the East African nation
A father-of-30 miner who became an overnight millionaire after digging up ultra-rare gemstones said he has found a third multi-million-pound lump of Tanzanite.
The third stone allegedly weighs six kilograms and has an estimated value of £1.5million ($2million).
Saniniu Laizer found Tanzanite, which has a deep violet-blue colour, near his home in northern Tanzania.
The 52-year-old, who has four wives and 30 children, previously vowed to use some of his earnings to build a school and a shopping mall.
The first two stones have an estimated value of $3.4 million.
Saniniu Laizer pictured last month holding up two of the precious gemstones. He has now found a third Tanzania stone weighing 6.5kg
The gem is found only in the East African country and is considered to be one of the rarest gemstones on earth.
Laizer waved the large stone over his head before handing it over to Tanzanian government officials who gave him a check to purchase it.
‘I am begging my fellow miners, that we should patriotic by adhering to rule and regulations and committing ourselves to work hard so that we prosper,’ said Laizer, in Swahili, referring to regulations that tanzanite stones should be sold directly to the government, rather than to illegal traders.
‘We Tanzanians have decided that minerals should first benefit us as a country,’ said the Minister for Mines Dotto Biteko.
‘We have had enough of selling our gems to others who benefit while our communities remain poor.
Two of the Tanzanite gemstones previously sold by Laizer – the largest ever found, according to the Ministry of Mines – are pictured at a ceremony attended by senior government officials
‘For example, in many mining areas business has gone up. Even areas where there was no business now things have improved.’
The small-scale miner found two other chunks of the gemstone last month in one of the tanzanite mines in the north of the country.
The mines are surrounded by a wall to control cross-border smuggling of the valuable mineral.
Last month, Laizer was pictured on Tanzanian television being presented with a large cheque, above, after the Bank of Tanzania bought the gemstones in a ceremony
Other miners were surprised by Mr Laizer’s fortune but ‘acknowledged perseverance may have something to do with it’, according to the BBC’s Aboubakar Famau.
Mr Laizer insisted that his lifestyle would not change and that he would continue to look after his herd of 2,000 cows.
The first gemstone weighed 20lb while the second weighed 11lb, a mines ministry spokesperson said.
Before Mr Laizer dug out the chunks last week, the largest Tanzanite stone recorded was seven pounds.
Last month, Mr Laizer was pictured on Tanzanian television. He was 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 lost.