FREETOWN, March 16 (Xinhua) -- Sierra Leone's presidential spokesman Abdulai Bayraytay confirmed to Xinhua on Thursday that a diamond weighing over 700 carats has been discovered in the Kono district, a diamond-rich district in the Eastern Province of Sierra Leone.
According to Bayraytay, it is the largest diamond found in the country since 1972 when the Star of Sierra Leone was found weighing over 900 carats.
The diamond, discovered by an artisanal miner, was shown to the President on Wednesday, who instructed that the diamond be taken to the Bank of Sierra Leone for safe keeping and valuation.
He said potential buyers would have to come to Sierra Leone for transparency and accountability.
Bayraytay described the find as a "good news to the country" especially at the time of the country's development process.
