Big Find

 The 203 carat Millennium Star is the second biggest flawless diamond. The newly found stone could produce a stone even bigger.

From August 2007:

The world’s biggest diamond, believed to be twice the size of the Cullinan, has been discovered in the North-West Province of South Africa. The find has electrified the diamond community, but the circumstances of the discovery are shrouded in mystery.The diamond is expected to attract furious bidding from buyers worldwide and could fetch up to £15m.

A spokesman for the mining house which made yesterday’s find, Brett Joli, said the diamond was being rushed to a bank vault in Johannesburg and would be kept there for a couple of days “until we calm down and decide what we are going to do”. A security company was being hired to protect the precious stone.

The mining company which made the find has not been identified.

The South Africa Broadcasting Corporation said the stone was said to be twice the size of the Cullinan diamond.

Fred Cuellar, the founder of Diamond Cutters International and author of How to Buy a Diamond, said he first heard about the find a few days ago. “I get a phone call when any rare stone around the world is found and when I heard about this one it was stunning news.

“It caught everybody in the diamond industry offside. There will be a lot of mad bidding from a lot of private individuals as to who is going to buy this stone.”

The Cullinan, which was found near Pretoria more than a century ago, was until recently acknowledged to be the largest cut diamond in the world, weighing in at 530.20 carats. In 1985 it lost the record to the Golden Jubilee, which was found in the same mine as the Cullinan and weighed 545.67 carats.

In its rough state the Cullinan weighed 3,106.75 carats. It now forms part of King Edward’s sceptre and is in the Tower of London.

The Cartier diamond, famous as a gift from Richard Burton to Elizabeth Taylor, weighed a mere 240.80 carats rough and 69.42 carats cut.

Mr Cuellar said the most important information about the latest find was yet to be forthcoming, including whether it is colourless. “The reported size of the stone is accurate, but there are all these other factors we still don’t know and what matters now is how wide, how clear and how well cut it will be.

“Will this diamond rank above the best quality diamonds in the world? I can tell you right now, no. But in as far as the list of the largest diamonds ever found in the world goes, would it make that list? Yes it would.”

He said the first seven people who looked at the stone thought it was industrial grade, but that view has changed and it now appears to be a stone that will be cut into a piece of jewellery.

The quandary facing the owner of the diamond now is how best to cut the stone he said. “The thinking usually is with these types of things, we know how big we could get it but we don’t know how much it will hurt us on the quality side.”

The Cullinan, also known as the Star of Africa, was thought by some to be part of a larger stone which still lies somewhere undiscovered.

There will be interest in who made the find and how they will be rewarded. The black miner who discovered the Excelsior, said to be the second largest uncut diamond ever found, received a horse and saddle, and a sum of money.

Rock stars

· The Cullinan Diamond was discovered in 1905 and at 3,106 carats was the largest gem-quality rough diamond ever found. Cullinan I, or the Great Star of Africa - at 530 carats formerly the largest cut diamond - was one of the 105 gems cut from it.

· The Koh-i-noor is part of the British crown jewels. It originated in India but seized by Britain as a spoil of war in 1849. The diamond supposedly brings good luck to female owners and misfortune or death to any male who wears or owns it.

· The Hope Diamond is a large (45.52 carat), deep blue diamond. It is legendary for the curse it supposedly puts on whoever possesses it. Previous owners include Kings Louis XV and XVI and Marie Antoinette.

Diamond Exploration

Mining is one of Sierra Leone’s most important industries and diamond are one of the country’s main exports. In June 2003, the UN ban on the sale of Sierra Leone diamonds (introduced during the civil war) expired and was not renewed; the Government has continued to enhance its control over diamond mining.

Sierra Leone is a founder member of the Kimberley Process for diamond exports, which is promoted by the United Nations. This process brings together industry, governments and NGOs to provide certificates of origin for diamonds and to regulate exports to prevent the financing of war through the sale of ‘conflict diamonds’. Since the introduction of the Kimberley Process, Sierra Leone has seen the export of legally mined diamonds increase substantially, surging 66% in 2003 to US$76m (507,000 carats) and increasing further to US$127m in 2004 (692,000 carats). The average price achieved in 2004 was US$183 per carat.

The quality of Sierra Leonean diamonds is renowned, particularly as there have been recovered some spectacularly large stones of very high value from its alluvial deposits; the established diamond fields are concentrated in the Kono (Koidu), Kenema and Bo Districts and are mainly situated in the drainage areas of the Sewa, Bafi, Woa, Mano and Moa Rivers. Alluvial diamond concentrations occur in river-channel gravels, flood-plain gravels, terrace gravels and in gravel residues in soils and swamps.

The largest diamond ever found was the 969.8 ct ‘Star of Sierra Leone’, discovered in the Kono area in February 1972. Two stones were sold in 1996, weighing 188 ct and 283 ct that came from an unspecified location.

Sierra Leone Selection Trust (SLST) commenced alluvial diamond mining in the Kono area in 1934; its mining in the Tongo area commenced in 1954. In 1970 the government acquired a 51% interest in SLST’s assets through the National Diamond Mining Company (NDMC). Peak annual output of these two fields of over one million carats (Mct) per year was achieved in the late 1960s and early 1970s, but output steadily declined thereafter to fewer than 100,000 carats by 1985. Artisinal mining (legal and illegal) also accounted for a significant output in these areas.

Kimberlites, the primary source of diamonds, were first discovered in 1948 in the Koidu area and subsequently at Tongo and Panguma, and were tested by trenching, drilling, bulk sampling and trial mining. At Koidu, the Koidu Holdings Ltd company estimates reserves at approximately 2Mct down to a depth of 300m and further significant resources have also been delineated at the Tongo kimberlite field (a resource of up to 18.9 million carats was estimated by Rex Diamond Mining Corporation Ltd., but this is considered highly speculative - earlier reports estimated approximately 2 million carats).

Trial mining and bulk sampling programmes have been undertaken by Koidu Holdings on the No.1 kimberlite pipe at Koidu, with initial mine production of over 18,000 carats averaging a realised price of US$224 per carat. Koidu Holdings has also recently been awarded a licence over the Tongo diamondiferous kimberlite field.

Blood Diamonds

Sierra Leone is rich in diamonds. The trade in illicit gems, known as “blood diamonds”, funded conflicts, & perpetuated the civil war. The government has attempted to crack down on cross-border diamond trafficking.

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Travel: Quick Facts

Sierra Leone has had it’s fair share of troubles but it is still amazingly beautiful:

While peace now reigns in Sierra Leone, and conditions have improved substantially, travellers should exercise caution on the roads outside of Freetown, and avoid the area bordering Liberia and Guinea, where rebel and military activity continue. Read more

Culture

HISTORY AND ETHNIC RELATIONS Archaeological evidence suggests that people have occupied Sierra Leone for at least twenty-five hundred years,

and early migrations, expeditions, and wars gave the country its diverse cultural and ethnic mosaic. Traders and missionaries, especially from the north, were instrumental in spreading knowledge of tools, education, and Islam. Read more

Sierra Leone Climate and Weather

Sierra Leone experiences a hot and humid tropical climate with a wet and dry season.

The summer rainy season is between May and October with most rain falling in July and August. Temperatures average 86°F (30°C) throughout the year with night time temperatures hovering around 75°F (24°C). Read more

Entry Requirements

SIERRA LEONE Entry Requirements

PASSPORTS
All persons entering Sierra Leone must have a valid passport.

ENTRY VISAS
Passengers not holding Sierra Leone (or ECOWAS member state) passports are required to obtain pre issued visas for entry into Sierra Leone.
Such documentation may be obtained from Sierra Leone consular offices, details of which may be found on this website.

CUSTOMS REGULATIONS (guide - details from your nearest consular office)
Currency Import: cash must not exceed US$ 5,000 (or equivalent)
Currency Export: cash must not exceed US$ 5,000 (or equivalent)

IMPORT ALLOWANCES
200 cigarettes
1.136 litres of wine or spirit
1.136 litres of perfume

PROHIBITED IMPORTS
Firearms, explosives, obscene literature and live animals
PROHIBITED EXPORTS
Firearms, explosives, live animals, gold and historical artefacts

HEALTH
Anti Malaria tablet course is highly recommended - malaria remains a most important consideration
Vaccination against yellow fever, hepatitis A and typhoid is recommended
Local water is untreated - drink, wash and clean your teeth in bottled water which is abundantly available. Alternatively use water that has been boiled or steralised
Avoid dairy products
Always eat fresh food that has been thoroughly cooked - avoiding shellfish
Fruit, salad and vegetables should be peeled before consumption
Avoid all direct contact with local animals
Official health related information should be obtained from your nearest Sierra Leone consular office or nearest international health advise location

TRAVEL INSURANCE is recommended

SIERRA LEONE LOCAL TIME GMT throughout the year

ELECTRICITY 220v AC 50Hz

Disclaimer: Correct at time of printing

Celtel to sell shares

Celtel International has directed Celtel Africa to launch an initial public offering (IPO) to international and local investors.

Celtel Zambia Managing Director David Venn disclosed on Tuesday that Celtel Zambia will launch its IPO on April 28.

As the first to declare its offer’s launch date, Celtel Zambia will be the first to launch its IPO.

Celtel networks in other African countries are still working on regulatory requirements.

“In Celtel Zambia, Celtel International BV has provided an offer for sale of over one billion shares, representing a 20 % share capital in Celtel Zambia,” Venn said.

Zambia’s Minister of Communications and Transport Dora Siliya said the move by Celtel to sell shares is a good response to the growth of information and communication technologies (ICT) in the country.

Marketing Director of Celtel Sierra Leone Evans Muhanga said he was aware of the IPO but that it took Zambia some three to four years to be able to get to the point of launching an IPO.

“However, it will be premature for Celtel Sierra Leone to make any official public statement on the IPO because it would have raised peoples hope when it is not yet time,” he said adding that the process could be undertaken different stages across countries in Africa.

Celtel International is a pan-African mobile network with a presence in 15 African countries including Madagascar, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Ghana, Chad, Burkina Faso and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

It has more than 400 million subscribers whilst it continues to build and operate world-class communications networks that deliver reliable and competitive services in Africa.

Human Traffickers Infiltrate Government Organisations

Deputy minister of internal affairs, local government and rural development Kalilu Kalokoh Tuesday said that collaborators of those involved in human trafficking have infiltrated state organisations.

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Diamonds

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