'Mega-diamond' still a mystery
28/08/2007 14:51  - (SA)  

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This photo from the Mining Weekly Online website shows a diamond said to be twice as big as the Cullinan sparkler. Next to it is a cellphone. (Mining Weekly Online website-Brett Jolly, AP)

Mystery over huge diamond find World's largest diamond in NW

Johannesburg - Mystery and intrigue surrounded reports on Tuesday of a significant diamond find in the North West.

Neither the Department of Minerals and Energy nor the SA Diamond Board were able to provide information on the find, reportedly of a stone larger than the Cullinan diamond.

Gemologist Les Milner said: "It hasn't been verified by an independent source."

Milner had been sent a cellphone picture of the "stone" as industry experts caution it should be referred to until confirmed as a diamond.

The picture was forwarded by Mining Weekly Online who reported that they received it from the personal assistant of a spokesperson for the company Two Point Five Construction.

Mining Weekly Online reported that Brett Jolly, a spokesperson for the company claiming to have found it, which was part of the property development firm Two Point Five group, said: "As far as I understand, a 7 000 carat light green stone is sitting in a bank vault in Johannesburg."

Jolly said he was on his way to meet his attorneys to determine what to do next.

Twice the size of the Cullinan

Milner said: "If it is (a diamond) it would be at least twice the size of the Cullinan diamond which was about 3 000 carats."

Its greenish tinge is a quality found in some rough diamonds, but it could also be attributed to the photographic quality of the picture.

If it is a diamond, it would first have to be verified as such, and if it was going to exported, it would have to have the necessary licensing documentation.

It would also be subjected to the Kimberley Process, a system aimed at controlling the sale of "blood diamonds".

It was difficult to determine its value, as this depended on what a buyer was prepared to pay, Milner said.

An industry insider said that it would be normal not to reveal the location of a potentially very valuable diamond, for security reasons.

It was also not uncommon for the owner of a big find to initially keep details under wraps for the purposes of increasing buyer interest.

The "diamond" is already featured on Wikipedia.

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