 | This article needs to be updated.(October 2020) |
| Weight | 709 carats (141.8 g) |
|---|---|
| Country of origin | Sierra Leone |
| Discovered | March 2017 |
| Original owner | Emmanuel Momoh |
| Owner | Emmanuel Momoh |
The Sierra Leone Diamond is a 709-carat, alluvial diamond found in 2017 by workers hired by Pastor Emmanuel Momoh in river sediment in Koidu village, Kono district, Sierra Leone. [1] [2] It has since been renamed The Peace Diamond. [3]
The Peace Diamond was discovered on 13 March 2017 by a team of five diamond miners. [3] The miners brought the diamond to Pastor Emmanuel Momoh, manager of the Majestic Exploration & Mining Company Limited and owner of the mineral concession licence. [2] [3]
Momoh found the diamond while searching through river sediment in a community artisanal licence area belonging to the community of Koyardu Village within the mineral exploration concession licence of Majestic Exploration & Mining Company Limited. He is not a professional diamond hunter. He looks for diamonds as a freelancer or artisanal diamond hunter. Momoh said that he had the option of fleeing to Belgium with the diamond using the help of a local dealer. However, [1] he handed over the diamond to the government with the hope that it would help increase recent development in the country, and especially the impoverished Kono district. [4]
The uncut found diamond is slightly smaller than a hockey puck. It is one of the twentieth largest ever found and the largest discovered in the past forty years. [5] It is the second largest found in Sierra Leone, the largest being the Star of Sierra Leone, a 968.9-ct diamond discovered in 1972. The diamond appears to have a reddish stain coating it. The Ministry of Mines and Mineral Resources has attempted to clean it by "boiling (it) in hydrofluoric acid and nitric acid for 72 hours". [1]
Ernest Bai Koroma, president of Sierra Leone, stated that the Ministry of Mines was given "clear instruction to the Ministry of Mines that the evaluation, sale and distribution of the proceeds must be done in the most transparent manner." [4] He also said that Momoh, who is officially its present owner, would be given a certain amount of the proceeds after the diamond is sold at auction. [1] Momoh has been involved in the weighing, cleaning, and bidding of the stone, and states that he is satisfied with the transparency of the process. [1]
The diamond is now in a safe at the Bank of Sierra Leone, Sierra Leone's central bank in Freetown. [4]
By April 5, 2017, there had only been six offers for the diamond. In response, the deadline was extended to May 10. [1] The diamond was bought by Graff Diamonds in December 2017 for $6.5M USD via auction. [6] The diamond auction was facilitated by The Rapaport Group, [7] a corporation specializing in diamond trade.
Pastor Emmanuel Momoh was born on December 25, 1975. He comes from the Idah Local Government area in Kogi State, Nigeria, and is of the Igala tribe. [8]
Momoh graduated from Federal Polytechnic, Idah where he received a National Diploma in electrical and electronics engineering. He then graduated from Kaduna Polytechnic where he received his Higher National Diploma in Electronics and Telecommunications Engineering.
He currently owns and manages a computer service company in Lokoja and is an Evangelical preacher. [1]
On October 3, 2015, Momoh was ordained and became Pastor by the general overseer, Bishop (Dr.) John Ibenu. He is currently serving at the Headquarters Church, Adankolo New layout, Lokoja, Kogi state.
Momoh is married to Rose I. Momoh. They have three children, Mercy, Deborah and Joan.
Sierra Leone, officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered by Liberia to the southeast and Guinea surrounds the northern half of the nation. Covering a total area of 71,740 km2 (27,699 sq mi), Sierra Leone has a tropical climate, with diverse environments ranging from savanna to rainforests. The country has a population of 7,092,113 as of the 2015 census. The capital and largest city is Freetown. The country is divided into five administrative regions, which are subdivided into 16 districts.
Kogi State is a state in the North Central region of Nigeria, bordered to the west by the states of Ekiti and Kwara, to the north by the Federal Capital Territory, to the northeast by Nasarawa State, to the northwest by Niger State, to the southwest by the Edo and Ondo states, to the southeast by the states of Anambra and Enugu, and to the east by Benue State. It is the only state in Nigeria to border ten other states. Named for the Hausa word for river (kogi). Kogi State was formed from parts of Benue State, Niger State, and Kwara State on 27 August 1991. The state is nicknamed the "Confluence State" due to the fact that the confluence of the River Niger and the River Benue occurs next to its capital, Lokoja.
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The Sierra Leone Civil War (1991–2002), or the Sierra Leonean Civil War, was a civil war in Sierra Leone that began on 23 March 1991 when the Revolutionary United Front (RUF), with support from the special forces of Liberian dictator Charles Taylor's National Patriotic Front of Liberia (NPFL), intervened in Sierra Leone in an attempt to overthrow the Joseph Momoh government. The resulting civil war lasted 11 years, enveloped the country, and left over 50,000 dead.
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The Kono people are a major Mande-speaking ethnic group in Sierra Leone at 5.2% of the country's total population. Their homeland is the diamond-rich Kono District in eastern Sierra Leone. The Kono are primarily diamond miners and farmers.
Alhaji Samuel Sidique Sam-Sumana is a Sierra Leonean politician who was the Vice President of Sierra Leone from September 17, 2007 to March 17, 2015. Sam-Sumana stood as the vice-presidential candidate of the All People's Congress (APC) in the 2007 presidential election, alongside presidential candidate Ernest Bai Koroma. The APC ticket defeated the Sierra Leone People's Party (SLPP) presidential candidate Solomon Berewa and vice presidential candidate Momodou Koroma. Sam-Sumana took office as vice president on September 17, 2007.
Jamil Sahid Mohamed Khalil was a Sierra Leonean-Lebanese businessman, diamonds and commodities trader. He attained prominence in the diamond industry across Africa and Antwerp and became an influential figure in the politics of Sierra Leone through his close association with President Siaka Stevens. Jamil also came to dominate other business sectors including fisheries, tourism construction and aviation.
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The 968.9-carat (193.78 g) Star of Sierra Leone diamond was discovered by miners on February 14, 1972, in the Diminco alluvial mines in the Koidu area of Sierra Leone. It ranks as the fourth-largest gem-quality diamond and the largest alluvial diamond ever discovered.
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The Ministry of Mineral Resources (MMR) Sierra Leone is located on the 5th Floor Youyi Building, Brookfields, Freetown, Sierra Leone. Further to this the MMR Geological Surveys Department can be found at the New England estate, also in Freetown. The Ministry also supports a network of Regional Office in Makeni, Bo, Kenema and Kono, each headed by a Government Mines Engineer.
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