Padayappa's Story comes True: Tanzanian miner Becomes 'Millionaire' in a Day!

A Tanzanian miner recently became an overnight millionaire after selling two gemstones. Saniniu Laizer earned £2.4m ($3.4m) from the mining ministry for finding these gemstones. Put together both the stones weighed around 15 kg. 

He stumbled upon Tanzanite, one of the rarest gemstones on earth which is found only in northern Tanzania. It is generally used to make ornaments. According to local geologists the supply of this gemstone cannot be found after 20 years. The value of the stone is determined by how rare it is. Usually if the stone has finer colours and clarity, it will be priced higher. It is available in a variety of colours such as green, red, purple and blue. 

Mr Laizer sold both the stones during trading event in Manyara. The President of Tanzania, John Magufuli congratulated him and said "This is the benefit of small-scale miners and this proves that Tanzania is rich.”

The 52-year-old man has four wives. When he was questioned about his plans and what he’d do with the money, he told BBC, "I want to build a shopping mall and a school. I want to build this school near my home. There are many poor people around here who can't afford to take their children to school. I am not educated but I like things run in a professional way. So, I would like my children to run the business professionally.”

"There will be a big party tomorrow," Mr Laizer who is a father of more than 30 children, told the BBC.