Another huge diamond has been released from the Earth’s clutches following an astounding discovery in Sierra Leone earlier this year.
Sierra Leone’s Minerals Agency announced recently that a 476-carat diamond was discovered in the Kono district – the same eastern part of the country where a local pastor unearthed a 709.1-carat stone in March.
Pastor Emmanuel Momoh’s discovery was the biggest diamond to be found in Sierra Leone since 1972, when the 969-carat star of Sierra Leone was dug up by miners. It is also one of the largest diamonds unearthed in recent years at mines in southern Africa, behind Lucara Diamond’s (TSX:LUC) 1,111-carat rock found in Botswana in 2015, and among the 20 largest diamonds ever found. While Sierra Leone hasn’t officially revealed the yellow-hued diamond’s worth, experts value it at over $50 million.
Mining.com reports that, the diamond found on Saturday will be sold by New York diamond specialists Rapaport Auctions, according to reports DW.com. Two other diamonds of 19.70 and 27.93 carats were discovered in the same area on the same day, the website said.
Between 1991 and 2002, Kono was at the centre of the “blood diamond” trade that funded the country’s brutal civil war as rebel groups exchanged gems for weapons. In 2003 the United Nations lifted a ban on diamond exports from Sierra Leone.
…Invests N700m on IT infrastructure, human capital not website
Meanwhile, the Ministry has debunked reports that it expended over N700 million on creation of a website saying that it is a misinformation.
The ministry in a statement signed by the Permanent Secretary, Mohammed Abbas on Sunday said, “the attention of the Ministry of Mines and Steel Development has been drawn to news making the rounds especially on the social media that the ministry spent the sum of N700million creating a website for itself. The Ministry considers it incumbent to react swiftly to this misrepresentation and to set the records straight.
The statement stated that, “It is important for clarity to state that what the Ministry has acquired with the said sum of money is an integrated IT infrastructure which comprises two Data Centers, an off-site recovery centre, civil and environmental works on the Centers, running of the Centers till end of first quarter 2018, training of over 225 officials locally and internationally amongst other cost components of the entire infrastructure and programme.
Abbas said, “It is indeed disingenuous of anyone to reinvent and reduce all of these into an expenditure on a website.
He added that, “in realizing aspects of this project as a turnkey solution, we have been careful to follow all laid down processes. Since the cost of implementing the project is above ministerial limits, we sought and obtained the concurrence of the Federal Executive Council after a detailed presentation in January 2017.
“When, last Thursday, 9th November 2017, our Ministers led other officials of the ministry and stakeholders to unveil the IT Integrated Automation & Interactive Solid Minerals Portal (IAISMP), we were really fulfilling one of the short-term pledges listed in our road map.
“These assets form critical pillars of our agenda to reform the mining and minerals sector, particularly as a key step towards our vision to lead the sector to shared mining prosperity where we make significant contributions to GDP in the country.
He explained that, “in the course of the project, we have emphasized the need for stakeholders’ interface, which included a facility inspection tour for reporters and journalists who cover the sector. We have no reason to commit public resources to projects that will not advance the cause of repositioning our sector and we believe that we did everything to intimate the general public about our activities in this respect,” the statement reads in part.
He emphasized that it is most important to state that acquired IT infrastructure, in all its ramifications, is an enabler of the serious work at repositioning the sector.
