What next after Laizer sells biggest Tanzanite gemstones in history worth Sh7.7billion?

Arusha. Small scale miner Saniniu Laizer has made history after he became the first man to mine biggest Tanzanite gemstones in history, the first gemstone weighed 9.27kg, while the second weighed 5.103kg.

Until yesterday, the world’s largest rough tanzanite find at Mererani was a 3.38 kilogramme (16,838 carats) stone mined in 2005.

The two dark violet-blue gemstones, each about the dimensions of a forearm, were discovered by Saniniu Laizer in one of the tanzanite mines raked in a hefty Sh. 7.7 billion from the sale.

With the mining pits still promising for more rare gems, Mr Saniniu Kuriani Laizer believes he can still rake in more from his Block D site.

 That would perfect his dreams to extend his business empire beyond the gemstone trading by putting up a shopping mall.

The planned shopping centre is set at his home village near the famous Mererani mines from where he struck his fortune.

 His other plans include building  a primary and  a secondary school and a health centre in his Naisinyai Village, Simanjiro District.

News on the emerging billionaire reverberated across the country after he was handed over a cheque for Sh7.7 billion for his newfound wealth.

He was dressed in his traditional Maasai shuka as he received the money from Minerals minister Doto Biteko.

He looked composed and visibly not over excited as would have been the case for any ordinary person upon stumbling on unexpected billions.

 But the 51-year-old Laizer admitted it was only by sheer luck that he stumbled upon the two large rough rare gems.

“It was on Sunday, June 14,” he told The Citizen. “Personally I did not go underground but my excavators did”. Laizer said although his plans after the ‘big find’ were still in preliminary stage, he would invest only in viable projects.

 “I feel excited that I am doing business with the government” he said when reached on phone late yesterday. Until recently, he was a typical livestock keeper without any background in education or involvement in business.

But he was forced into gemstone mining after he realised people were minting millions from the dusty Mererani hills near his home.

Although he had ventured into the multi-million shilling business for five years, he could not manage to earn Sh100 million at once.

“Over time, I can accumulate up to Sh800m but I have never received a billion shillings at once,” he said. Like other nomadic pastoralists, Mr Laizer was hesitant to talk on the size of his family or population of his livestock herd.

However, it emerged he had four wives and 32 children and has been living at Naisinyai village close to Mererani. The two large pieces of the blue-violet tanzanite he excavated were outrightly purchased by the government through the central bank. 

 Tanzanite, a rare gem found nowhere in the world except the dry Mererani hills in Manyara Region, were discovered in the late 1960s.

The precious stone earned the economy millions of shillings through exports despite rampant smuggling through the porous borders. Several teams, including that of a   Parliamentary Committee, found loopholes in tanzanite trade due to loose controls.

Mr Biteko affirmed the finding of the two gemstones was another boost for the promising minerals sector.

He said the Mererani mines now contributed more to the national coffers due to tightened measures against smuggling.

Until then illegal exports  of the rare gemstones denied the economy of  billions of shillings through tax  evasion.

That, he said, was the reason for the construction of a 24 kilometre long perimeter wall around the Mererani mines at the cost of Sh6 billion. According to him, the government lost a staggering Sh188 tril- lion between 1998 and 2017 due to illegal exports of tanzanite.

Elated, President John Magufuli made a phone call during the handover event, pledging the government would offer the necessary support to small scale gemstone miners.