Giant Emerald Discovered in Urals! Children of Miners Hold Contest to Name the Stone
In the Urals, a giant emerald was discovered. The weight of the stone is more than 1.5 kilograms. The name of the stone will be chosen by a contest held among children of miners and local residents. It is expected that the emerald will be auctioned off.
Kirill Bortnikov has the details.
The dream of a Ural geologist is in this unsightly box. The "find of the decade" will be presented today under special protection and with fanfare.
- Notice how smooth and clear the faces of the hexagon are.
The weight of the mineral is more than 1.5 kg — it is one of the largest emeralds found in recent years: 14 by 7 centimeters.
The gemstone was found in the only emerald deposit of Russia, near the Malyshev settlement. It was an ordinary work shift on New Year's Eve. It was a surprise when a sticking druse suddenly appeared from the wall.
Dmitriy Taimasov, Deputy Head Geologist: "We saw two big facets and immediately realized that this is a big emerald. The rest was hidden in the rock. This is an incredible experience. Such a unique emerald — you meet once in a lifetime".
Dmitry worked in the mine only six months and dreamed of such a lucky find. The team will receive a good reward for the emerald: 250,000 rubles.
- This 1.5 kg gem still doesn't have a name, but it is already called rare. Such large stones are found once a year. The preliminary cost is 4 million rubles, but in March an auction will be held, and the price could rise considerably.
Two years ago, at Malyshev's field, a 1-kilogram emerald was found. It is considered to be a collectible, its price is 10 million rubles. World experts have already noted the uniqueness of the Ural emeralds.
Evgenii Vasilevskiy, Malyshev Field Director: "First of all, it has its own shade that differs from other emeralds. Secondly, our stones didn't enter the world market for a long time and weren't active players there. There are other fields: in Zambia, Colombia. The Ural emerald is one of the most valuable stones in this segment".
Now the mining is underground. Open-pit mining stopped in the 70s. Every day 200 tons of ore is raised to the surface.
Sergei Malakhov, Emerald production factory head: "Depending on the content of crystalline raw materials in the ore, we extract from 500 gram to 4 kg of emeralds per shift".
In half a century, almost 30 tons of emeralds were found. Geological exploration provides a good forecast: the mine will be fully loaded for at least 100 years ahead. There are at least 60 tons of unique stones in the Urals' depths.
Kirill Bortnikov, Maksad Sapargeldyaev, Dmitriy Komov, Elena Galeeva Vesti — Malyshev Deposit, Sverdlovskaya Oblast