Alrosa has unearthed a rough diamond bearing an uncanny resemblance to a soccer ball, and with flawless timing: bang in the middle of the World Cup taking place in Russia.
The miner discovered the 0.50-carat stone at its Karpinskaya-1 pipe in the Arkhangelsky region Wednesday the 4th, three days before the Russian national soccer team’s quarterfinal against Croatia. Alrosa CEO Sergey Ivanov said he hoped it was a good omen ahead of the game, though it didn’t work: Russia lost in a penalty shoot-out and exited the tournament.
“Nature creates a lot of different shapes, sometimes unexpected, but it is the first time we see something looking like a football,” a spokesperson for the Russian miner told Rapaport News Sunday.
The producer will name the diamond after Igor Akinfeev, Russia’s goalkeeper.
