“Dad! Papa! I found one!”– With these words, a seven-year-old dashed up to her father and proudly presented her discovery: a 2.95-carat, golden-brown diamond. The girl found him in the Crater of Diamonds State Park in Murfreesboro, Arkansas.
As the national park reports, the girl was visiting with her father and grandmother on September 1st to celebrate her birthday. “She got hot and wanted to sit down for a moment, so she went to the big rocks by the fence,” says her father. “The next thing I know, she ran up to me and said, ‘Dad! Daddy! I found one!'”
The Crater at Diamonds State Park is a 37.5-acre area on the eroded surface of an ancient diamond-bearing volcano. It is regularly plowed up to bring the gemstones from deeper layers directly to the surface. Visitors pay an entrance fee, can rent digging and sieving tools on site, and in return take home any rocks they find. The park rangers also offer visitors help in identifying the rocks and minerals found on site – free of charge.
More than 75,000 diamonds are said to have been discovered by visitors since 1906 – including the largest diamond ever discovered in the USA. So far this year alone, 563 diamonds with a total weight of more than 89 carats have been registered.
The pea-sized diamond that the seven-year-old discovered is the second largest find made by a park visitor this year, according to the park. It was only surpassed by a 3.29-carat brown diamond that was discovered there in March.
Watch the video: Hard to believe – suddenly a diamond moves across the table. The dealer is so fascinated that he immediately pulls out the camera. Apparently magpies face thieving competition from the insect kingdom.
Quelle: Crater of Diamands State Park
