Sierra Leone Produces 144ct. Diamond

RAPAPORT... A company in Sierra Leone has obtained and exported a 144.12-caratrough diamond worth at least $600,000, authorities in the west African nationsaid Tuesday. A licensed diamond exporter brought the stone to theprecious-minerals trading department of the National Minerals Agency (NMA) lastweek for valuation, the NMA and the Ministry of Mines and Mineral Resources(MMMR) reported. The NMA carried out a valuation process based on estimatesfrom 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 wasworth $601,701. A third, independent appraiser put the price at $659,925, theNMA said. The NMA used the highest of the three figures to calculatethe taxes and 15% royalty due to the government, meaning the exporter paid$98,989 as royalty, the agency said. The company then received the KimberleyProcess certificate to export the stone. The government did not provide detailson where or how the diamond was recovered. Unlike other large rough diamonds Sierra Leone has yieldedrecently, the latest find will not go up for auction, as the miner chose toexport it instead, the NMA noted. The 709-carat Peace Diamond, which diggers inKoryardu village discovered in March 2017, sold to Graff Diamonds in Decemberfor $6.5 million in an auction the Rapaport Group managed. Graff then spent $16.5million later that month on the 476-carat Meya Prosperity, which Meya Miningunearthed in November. The Peace Diamond went up for public tender because thegovernment had a share in it, while in the case of the Prosperity, Meya choseto sell it at auction, the NMA explained. "There is no policy or law that states that diamonds must besold by public auction," the NMA noted Tuesday. "The issue of auction will bedealt with during the upcoming review of the Mines and Minerals Act 2009 andother associated policies. The MMMR and the NMA hereby assure the public of ourfirm commitment to ensure that Sierra Leoneans derive maximum benefits from ourmineral resources at all times."