A rare 5 655 carat emerald crystal was discovered at the world’s largest emerald mine in Zambia, Kagem Mining Limited this month.
All emeralds formed at the mine were created over 450 million years ago through a reactive process between minerals and surging magma from the earth’s crust.
Kagem Mining Limited is predominately owned by Gemfields with the Industrial Development Corporation of Zambia retaining a smaller portion of the company.
The huge emerald was discovered in the eastern part of the mine by geologist, Debapriya Rakshit, and emerald miner, Richard Kapeta.
Gemfield released a statement commenting on the one-of-a-kind emerald stone.
“This area of the mine has proven to be particularly fertile in recent months with the Kagem team recovering several significant crystals there, but none with the combined size, colour and clarity of the Lion Emerald,”
Gemfields introduces ‘Inkalamu’, the 5,655 carat Lion Emerald! Head over to our post on Instagram for more details – https://t.co/qLAdjZdrBZ pic.twitter.com/g5JdONUEYr
— Gemfields (@GemfieldsLtd) October 29, 2018
Most emeralds are not named unless they are considered ‘remarkable’ , but considering the size of the crystal, Gemfields decided to label the gem.
London based gemologist, Elena Basalgia, expresses her excitement on the discovery.
“The discovery of this exceptional gemstone is such an important moment both for us and the emerald world in general,” she said.
Named ‘Inkalamu’ meaning lion in the Bemba language. The stone was named in recognition of an existing partnership with both the Zambian Carnivore Program (ZCP) and the Nissan Carnivore Project (NCP).
Majority of the named emeralds only weighed a mere 1000 carats in comparison to the Lion Emerald.
The Lion Emerald will be auctioned off at 45 auction showcases in Singapore during November 2018. A total of 10% of the auction proceeds of the emerald will be given to the ZCP and NCP.
The buyer of this luxurious green coloured crystal will be provided with an in-depth indentification service as it will undergo Gübelin Gem Lab’s ‘Provence Proof’. This assures the owner the stone was responsibly sourced.
Due to the size of the stone, Gemfields is unable to estimate the selling price of the Lion Emerald.
Picture: Gemfields