Miners have unearthed an incredibly rare, five-pound ruby in Myanmar, the country’s state media reported on Friday.
The massive ruby, measuring 11,000 carats, was discovered near the town of Mogok — a war-torn region sitting in the heartland of the lucrative gem-mining industry — and later pictured at President Min Aung Hlaing’s office in Naypyidaw, according to the state-run Global New Light of Myanmar.
The ruby was discovered just after the country’s traditional New Year festival in April and unveiled by Myanmar’s president this week, and is now considered the second-largest ruby ever discovered in the country, according to the report from state media.
While it weighs roughly half the size of the largest ruby ever discovered in Myanmar — a 21,450-carat stone found in 1996 — the newly discovered gem is considered more valuable due to its superior color and quality, including its high-grade transparency and a highly reflective surface.
Myanmar relies heavily on gemstones as a major source of revenue, and produces as much as 90% of the world’s rubies, primarily from the Mogok region.
Despite the historic discovery, gemstones from the country have long drawn scrutiny from human rights groups who have urged jewelers to stop purchasing Myanmar-sourced gems, as the industry has served as a vital revenue stream for the country’s military governments.
Gemstone mining in the region also serves as a primary source of income for armed groups fighting for autonomy after a military takeover in 2021 crushed a democratically elected government, the Associated Press reported.
