A giant 709-carat diamond unearthed in Sierra Leone has sold at auction in New York for $6.5m (\u00a34.8m).<\/p>\n
Laurence Graff, chairman of Graff Diamonds, won the precious stone \u2013 nicknamed the \u201cpeace diamond\u201d \u2013 in bidding on Monday.<\/p>\n
Half of the proceeds, $3.8m, will be used to fund infrastructure projects to benefit the community of the small village where it was discovered.<\/p>\n
The Sierra Leone government rejected a bid of $7.8m at an earlier auction.<\/p>\n
The government is now expected to use the money raised to improve conditions in the village of Koryardu, including the introduction of a fresh supply of water, electricity, roads, medical care and the building and maintenance of schools.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Peace Diamond bought by Laurence Graff will change lives even though it\u2019s a shame the diamond hasn\u2019t sold for a wildly expensive price,\u201d the managing director of 77diamonds.com, Tobias Kormind, said.<\/p>\n
The earlier bid of $7.8m was rejected by the government when the stone was initially auctioned in Freetown, after it said that the figure was too low.<\/p>\n
The \u201cpeace diamond\u201d, said to be the 14th largest recorded diamond in the world, was handed to the Sierra Leone government in March after it was unearthed by Emmanuel Momoh, a Christian pastor.<\/p>\n
Mr Momoh told the BBC\u2019s Newsday programme before the auction on Monday that selling the diamond to middlemen would not have \u201cbenefited the community\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe lack a lot of things. We don\u2019t have a good road network \u2026 or drinking water,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
The sale of the diamond was handled by Rapaport Group, which waived all charges.<\/p>\n
The group\u2019s chairman, Martin Rapaport, told Newsday that the sale could bring about a \u201csea change in the relationship between artisanal miners and the government\u201d if the community is seen to benefit.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt will encourage others to work with the government,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
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Source: BBC<\/p>\n
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