Big gem answers pastor’s prayers

AN African church minister who supplements his meagre stipend by scrabbling for minerals in the mines of eastern Sierra Leone has discovered one of the largest diamonds ever found.

The 706-carat stone was extracted this week by Emmanuel Momoh, a pastor in one of the myriad churches that minister to the mining communities of Kono district, the diamond centre that became the crucible of Sierra Leone’s blood-soaked civil war.

It is believed to be the 13thlargest uncut diamond to be pulled from the ground. The stone is to be auctioned, the government said, although its value cannot be determined until its quality is assessed. An 813-carat diamond was sold in London last month for £51million (about R800-million).

Sierra Leone’s president, Ernest Bai Koroma, praised Momoh “for not smuggling the diamond out of the country”. He said Momoh would be rewarded.