A block of emerald weighing nearly 1.5kg has just been found in the Malyshevsky ore mine in the Sverdlovsk region of Russia, under the exploitation of Mariinskoye Priisk Joint Stock Company of the Russian high-tech corporation Rostec.
This is the largest gem block mined in this mine in the past 10 years.
The emerald block is kept in shape.
Experts estimate this 14cm x 7cm gem is worth around 4 million rubles (,000).
“This crystal has been mined with great care and has retained its original shape,” said Evgeny Vasilevsky, director of the Malyshevsky mine.
The employees involved in the mining were awarded a bonus of 250,000 rubles, Mr. Vasilevsky said.
The head of Industry and Science of the Sverdlovsk region (where the Malyshevsky gem is located) – Sergei Perestoronin believes that this is not the last rare stone to be extracted from this mine.
The emerald block is estimated to cost 70,000 USD (about 1.5 billion VND).
Emeralds are the third most valuable gemstone after diamonds and rubies. This allows a new emerald found in Russia to cost even more.
The Malyshevsky mine is the largest mine in Europe. Rostec invests a fund of 5 billion rubles ( million) in Mariinskoye Priisk JSC to exploit new deposits of precious and semi-precious stones, including emerald, alexandrite and beryllium.
The emerald block is mined in fine detail, so it has taken its shape intact from the mine.
The Rostec company is raising the ambition to modernize the existing production system along with the introduction of new technology. By 2018, the Malyshevsky mine will be fully exploited, with 400 tons of ore per year. Sedimentary deposits can exceed 60 tons.
According to industry experts, the price of emeralds increases by about 10% per year. They are especially sought after by collectors in Europe, China and the US. Colombia is currently the world’s largest producer of emeralds, accounting for about 50-95% of global production.