A team of Tanzanian miners has discovered the largest tanzanite stones ever seen in the country's history.
Saniniu Laizer, 52, a Maasai small scale miner and his team found the two stones -- weighing 9.27 kilograms (20.4 pounds) and 5.103 kilograms (11.3 pounds) -- at Mererani hill in the Simanjiro district of the country's northern Manyara region. Laizer's mining company employs more than 200 diggers.
He sold the stones, which have a blue or deep-violet coloring and are only found in Tanzania, to the government for 7.7 billion Tanzanian shillings ($3.3 million).
After being awarded a check during a ceremony attended by Tanzania's top government officials last week, Laizer said he would spend the funds on his community.