Government Rejects N2.5 Billion Bid For Diamond Stone Found By A Pastor

The government of Sierra Leone has rejected a $7.8 million bid, about N2.5 billion  for a rough, egg-sized diamond stone, one of the biggest ever found,  saying it failed to meet its own valuation.

The 709-carat gem is the second largest ever discovered in the country and was unearthed in March in the eastern Kono region by a Christian pastor who gave it to the government to handle the sale.

Five bids were handed to auctioneers in a sealed brown envelope, ranging from $2 million to $7.8 million. The top bid was made by a man in a white shirt and light trousers on behalf of Belgium diamond dealer Ray Diam BVBA.

“We’ve decided not to sell the diamond today because the highest bid price … does not match the government reserve price,” Sahr Wonday, chief auctioneer and head of the National Minerals Agency, told a packed room.

Reuters reports that the government now hopes to get more for the stone at an international auction in either Antwerp, Belgium or Tel Aviv in Israel, Wonday said, without giving further detail.