|
|
Sierra Leone Produces 144ct. Rough
Jul 4, 2018 8:16 AM
By Rapaport News
|
|
|
RAPAPORT... A company in Sierra Leone has obtained and exported a 144.12-carat
rough diamond worth at least $600,000, authorities in the west African nation
said Tuesday.
A licensed diamond exporter brought the stone to the
precious-minerals trading department of the National Minerals Agency (NMA) last
week for valuation, the NMA and the Ministry of Mines and Mineral Resources
(MMMR) reported.
The NMA carried out a valuation process based on estimates
from three parties, in line with the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme.
The NMA valued the stone at $648,540, while the diamond’s owner said it was
worth $601,701. A third, independent appraiser put the price at $659,925, the
NMA said.
The NMA used the highest of the three figures to calculate
the taxes and 15% royalty due to the government, meaning the exporter paid
$98,989 as royalty, the agency said. The company then received the Kimberley
Process certificate to export the stone. The government did not provide details
on where or how the diamond was recovered.
Unlike other large rough diamonds Sierra Leone has yielded
recently, the latest find will not go up for auction, as the miner chose to
export it instead, the NMA noted. The 709-carat Peace Diamond, which diggers in
Koryardu village discovered in March 2017, sold to Graff Diamonds in December
for $6.5 million in an auction the Rapaport Group managed. Graff then spent $16.5
million later that month on the 476-carat Meya Prosperity, which Meya Mining
unearthed in November.
The Peace Diamond went up for public tender because the
government had a share in it, while in the case of the Prosperity, Meya chose
to sell it at auction, the NMA explained.
“There is no policy or law that states that diamonds must be
sold by public auction,” the NMA noted Tuesday. “The issue of auction will be
dealt with during the upcoming review of the Mines and Minerals Act 2009 and
other associated policies. The MMMR and the NMA hereby assure the public of our
firm commitment to ensure that Sierra Leoneans derive maximum benefits from our
mineral resources at all times.”
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Tags:
144-carat diamond, Graff Diamonds, Kimberley Process, Kimberley Process Certification Scheme, Meya Mining, Meya Prosperity, Ministry of Mines and Mineral Resources, MMMR, National Minerals Agency, NMA, Peace Diamond, Rapaport News, Sierra Leone
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|