Sierra Leon pastor discovers 705 carat diamond worth more than £50million & gives it to the Govt.

A Pastor has found one of the world’s largest uncut diamonds, weighing 706 carats, which could be the 10th largest ever found. . The stone, is being stored in the country’s central bank, government sources said.

Pastor Emmanuel Momoh, who also works as a miner,discovered the 706-carat diamond in Kono district, the government said in a statement.

A local chief from Kono handed the stone to President Ernest Koroma on behalf of Emmanuel Momoh who made the discovery. The government plans to auction it. The stone is yet to be valued but could be worth millions of dollars.

President Ernest Bai Koroma,  thanked him for not smuggling it out of the country. The President pledged to reward him with some of the proceeds from the sale of the diamond.

The government plans to sell it to the highest bidder, the President said.

The gem may not be the largest ever found, but it's pretty close.

 Diamonds fueled a decade-long civil war that ended in 2002 in which 50,000 people were killed

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Rebels forced civilians in the east to mine the stones and bought weapons with the proceeds, leading to the term “blood diamonds”. “He (Koroma) underscored the importance of selling such a diamond here as it will clearly give the owners what is due them and benefit the country as a whole,” the statement said.