A 52-year-old Tanzanian who mined the largest gemstones in his country's history, became a millionaire overnight after selling them for 7.74 billion Tanzanian shillings, or $3.35 million.
Saniniu Laizer said he planned to celebrate by having a big party. He wants to build a school and a shopping mall with the money in his home town at Simanjiro district in Tanzania's Manyara region.
"I want to build this school near my home. There are many poor people around here who can't afford to take their children to school," Laizer told the BBC.
The Tanzanian President John Magufuli expressed his happiness at the find saying, "This is the benefit of small-scale miners and this proves that Tanzania is rich."
Laizer's stones weighed 9.2 kilograms and 5.8 kilograms. While the largest tanzanite gem mined weighed about 3.3 kilograms, according to the BBC. He was mining for the stones at the northern Tanzanian mines.
The dark violet blue tanzanite gems are the rarest among gemstones and is used to make ornaments. The world's supply of the gemstone is likely to deplete in the next 20 years, a local geologist was quoted as saying by a BBC report.
Laizer, who has four wives and more than 30 children, said that he didn't want to let his new wealth change his lifestyle. He says he would continue to care for his 2,000 cows and live without security concerns.
