This cowherd, an occasional traditional miner, an activity allowed for Maasai landowners in Tanzania, collected tanzanite.
Tanzanite is a very precious stone
It is a gemstone 1000 times rarer than diamond. If this shepherd digs the earth from time to time to hope to unearth some, in 52 years and hundreds of holes, he had found only a few grams.
And now, last month, while he was grazing his animals, he noticed on the surface of the ground, under a few centimeters of sand, a blue glow that shimmers in the sun. He stoops down and just effortlessly picks up what he found. These are the two largest pieces of tanzanite ever discovered in the world. Value: 7.7 billion Tanzanian shillings, or nearly 3 million euros.
Exorbitant price of tanzanite
It was at this price that Saniniu Kuryan Laizer sold his gemstones weighing 9.27 and 5.1 kg to the Central Bank of Tanzania. He received a check for nearly 2 billion CFA francs cash! If he had been allowed to sell them on the international market, he would have pocketed 10 times more. But in Tanzania, if the uncovered property goes to the miner, only the state has the right to buy it.
His plans, a shopping center in the capital (he always loved to go to these places on Independence Day) and an elementary school in each of the villages surrounding his home. So when God wants to bless you, he sometimes proceeds in the most unexpected way possible.
