Significant discovery

3 Aug 2005 07:01

Tanzanite One Limited03 August 2005 THE LARGEST PIECE OF ROUGH TANZANITE EVER FOUND TANZANITEONE ANNOUNCES THE DISCOVERY OF SINGLE TANZANITE WEIGHING OVER 3 KILOGRAMS London listed and AIM quoted TanzaniteOne Ltd, the world's leading miner andmarketer of tanzanite, today announces the discovery of the world's largestpiece of rough tanzanite from its Merelani Tanzanite Mine in Northern Tanzania. The discovery was made 270 meters underground at the Company's Bravo Shaft, thesouthernmost shaft of TanzaniteOne's license area. Weighing in at 16,839 carats(well over 3 kilograms) and measuring 220mm x 80mm x 70mm, the rough tanzanitepiece is impressive in both size and structure, and according to known records,is the world's largest single piece of tanzanite to have ever been mined. The piece has been named "The Mawenzi" after Kilimanjaro's second highest peak.Ian Harebottle, TanzaniteOne's President and Chief Operating Officer commented"We were reluctant to name it Uhuru, after Kilimanjaro's highest peak, on theoff chance that a larger piece is ever found." No value has as yet been placed on The Mawenzi. TanzaniteOne's experts plan tocarefully analyse and evaluate the piece before any final decision is taken onthe possible cutting and polishing of individual tanzanite gems from thiscrystal. TanzaniteOne is considering putting The Mawenzi on show for a periodbefore cutting and polishing begins in earnest. Ami Mpungwe, TanzaniteOne's Deputy Chairman further commented, "This really is asizeable stone, comparable to what the Cullinan Diamond is to the diamondindustry. It is only fitting that The Mawenzi is cut and polished here inTanzania. We expect to produce some truly exquisite gems from it, some of whichwe will put on display at Tanzania's National Museum." Pictures of the crystal will be available shortly on the Company's website,www.tanzaniteone.com. ENDS For further information please contact: TanzaniteOne LtdRenata Da Silva - Investor Relations+27 11 214 1000renata@tanzaniteonesa.comwww.tanzaniteone.com Conduit PR (UK)Leesa Peters/ Amanda Harris+44 20 7618 8708/ 0781 215 9885 This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange