Title: Gem Tanzanite to be marketed as investment stone.

Date: 8/24/2004; Publication: Xinhua News Agency;

DAR ES SALAAM, Aug 24, 2004 (Xinhua via COMTEX)

TanzaniteOne, the major miner of gemstone Tanzanite, has decided on a marketing policy after having been listed for trading on the Alternative Investment Market under the London Stock Exchange.

Directors of TanzaniteOne, which owns 60 percent of rough Tanzanite, said in a statement issued on Monday that the commencement of trading on the international stock exchange would further support investment in the Tanzanite industry.

"TanzaniteOne will focus its efforts on the growth and development of this most precious resource by marketing it as an investment stone, a rare and luxurious treasure, which is uniquely part of the beautiful country of Tanzania," the statement said.

The listing of TanzaniteOne came through while the price for rough Tanzanite gemstones had gone up to 700 US dollars per gram on international markets from 100 dollars three years ago.

However, a dual listing of TanzaniteOne on the local Dar es Salaam Stock Exchange was not immediately possible, according to the statement which added that contingent steps had been put into place to ensure that Tanzanians would afford to participate in the listing process.

Tanzanite, a gemstone glistering in a purplish hue with blue sparkles, was discovered in 1967 by accident and is mined in only a five-sq-km strip at the Merelani Hills in the shadow of Mount Kilimanjaro. The reserves are expected to exhaust before 2020. It has come to be known as the Gemstone of the 20th Century among jewelers.

Of the four key qualities characteristic of gemstones, Tanzanite boasts of beauty, rarity and high value. The weaker point of the gemstone lies in the fact that it measures between 6. 5 and 7.0 on the Moh's scale of hardness to stand a middle-of- range durability. Diamonds measure between 13.0 and 14.0 on the same scale.

Worldwide sales of Tanzanite are estimated at around 100 million dollars a year.

Copyright 2004 XINHUA NEWS AGENCY.