This archive report was first published on 25 June 2020.
On June 25, 2020, Tanzanian President John Magufuli congratulated Saniniu Laizer, a small-scale miner from Simanjiro district in Manyara, after he was awarded a cheque for 7.74 billion Tanzanian shillings ($3.35 million) for discovering the two largest tanzanite gemstones ever found.
The two dark violet-blue gemstones, each weighing 9.27kg and 5.103kg respectively, were discovered in one of the tanzanite mines in the north of the country, which are surrounded by a wall to control cross-border smuggling of the gemstones.
Laizer, who was pictured on Tanzanian television being presented with a large cheque, plans to use the money to build a shopping mall and a school in his community.
“I want to build a shopping mall and a school. I want to build this school near my home. There are many poor people around here who can’t afford to take their children to school,” Laizer told the BBC.
Laizer's discovery is a significant milestone for the Tanzanian mining industry, which has been working to control illegal mining and trading activities. In April 2018, Magufuli inaugurated a wall around tanzanite mining concessions in northern Tanzania to prevent smuggling.
“This is a confirmation that Tanzania is rich,” Magufuli told minerals minister Doto Biteko.
