The Malagasy authorities have announced their intention to put up for sale a 300 kg "emerald in matrix” discovered, under mysterious circumstances, at the State Palace of Ambohitsorohitra in the capital, Antananarivo.
The Minister of Mines, Carl Andriamparany, interviewed Tuesday evening on the public TV channel TVM, stated that this mineral treasure had been hidden in a secret room of the Palace since 2009, without any initiative ever taken to assess or exploit it. While the value of the stone has yet to be determined by specialized technicians—depending on its size and quality—"we can see on social media or specialized websites that a 10-gram emerald in matrix can be worth up to 70 euros,” the minister explained.
Colonel Michaël Randrianirina, President of the Republic, in office since last October, said he did not know how or why the stone ended up in the State Palace, but insisted he wants to make it a "symbol of transparency” and of his team’s commitment to serving the population.