Namibian Police Hunting for 78-carat Diamond Lost in Strike

Bloomberg reported that police in Namibia are on the hunt for a 78-carat diamond that went missing during a recent strike. The theft was reported by Namibia Diamond Trading Co., a joint venture between Namibia and Anglo American plc’s (LSE:AAL) De Beers unit.

As quoted in the market news:

While the value of the stone will depend on the quality and size of the polished stones that can be cut from it, a 78-carat diamond mined by BHP Billiton Ltd. (BHP) in Canada sold for $6 million in 2011. The largest diamond produced this century was the 603-carat Lesotho Promise, unearthed at Gem Diamonds Ltd. (GEMD)’s Letseng mine in Lesotho.

The news outlet also states:

More than 1,500 Mineworkers Union of Namibia members went on strike on Aug. 2 after rejecting the government’s offer of a 10 percent wage increase.

‘We are not commenting on this issue as it will interfere with investigations,’ Namdeb spokeswoman Pauline Thomas said.

Click here to read the full Bloomberg report.