The Meya mine in Sierra Leone’s Kono district has turned out a high-quality, 391.45-carat diamond, the second over 100 carats the deposit has produced.
The type IIa stone, which Meya Mining unearthed on August 20, was originally part of a 514.99-carat diamond that broke into three pieces during its extraction from the ore, the country’s National Minerals Agency said Tuesday. The diamond is the second find of this magnitude at the mine, following the 2017 recovery of a 476.98-carat, type IIa rough that became known as the Meya Prosperity and sold to Graff for $16.5 million.
“Only four mines in the world infrequently recover these exceptional over-500-carat diamonds,” said Meya Mining CEO Jan Joubert. “The fact that Meya has recovered two [such] diamonds after treating only 84,195 tonnes of competent kimberlite…suggests there is a high probability of recovering more and possibly bigger diamonds once the mine reaches steady state production…. Our priority now is to ensure that going forward, we can recover these high-value stones intact.”
Last year, Germinate Sierra Leone and Namibia-based Trustco Group sold a 70% share in Meya Mining to Sterling Global Trading in a $50 million deal. With the funds from the agreement — which included a $25 million cash payout and a $25 million loan — the companies aimed to expand production at the deposit.
Image: The minister of mines and mineral resources for Sierra Leone holding the 391.45-carat diamond. (National Minerals Agency)
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