<p>A deposit of emerald crystals weighing an estimated 1.5 kg has been discovered in a lump of rock in Russia, an official said.<br /><br /></p>.<p>The rock was found in Sverdlovsk region, said Firat Nurmukhametov, director of the rocks centre of the Urals Mining Institute.<br /><br />Vladimir Dyagilev, an entrepreneur from the minerals-rich city of Yekaterinburg, said he bought a lot at an auction at the Kaliningrad Amber Factory that included a lump of rock with emerald fragments in it.<br /><br />Suspecting there might be more emeralds inside the rock, he gave it to specialists and asked them to chip away at it.<br /><br />They discovered the deposit of gemstones inside. Dyagilev said the piece of rock weighs 2.3 kg, of which about 1.5 kg is emerald.<br /><br />Dyagilev said the fragment of rock containing the emeralds was originally valued at 300,000 rubles ($9,700).<br /><br />The rock will be put on show in an exhibition titled "The Emerald Room", which will open May 1 at the Sverdlovsk region governor's residence.<br /></p>
<p>A deposit of emerald crystals weighing an estimated 1.5 kg has been discovered in a lump of rock in Russia, an official said.<br /><br /></p>.<p>The rock was found in Sverdlovsk region, said Firat Nurmukhametov, director of the rocks centre of the Urals Mining Institute.<br /><br />Vladimir Dyagilev, an entrepreneur from the minerals-rich city of Yekaterinburg, said he bought a lot at an auction at the Kaliningrad Amber Factory that included a lump of rock with emerald fragments in it.<br /><br />Suspecting there might be more emeralds inside the rock, he gave it to specialists and asked them to chip away at it.<br /><br />They discovered the deposit of gemstones inside. Dyagilev said the piece of rock weighs 2.3 kg, of which about 1.5 kg is emerald.<br /><br />Dyagilev said the fragment of rock containing the emeralds was originally valued at 300,000 rubles ($9,700).<br /><br />The rock will be put on show in an exhibition titled "The Emerald Room", which will open May 1 at the Sverdlovsk region governor's residence.<br /></p>