Sierra Leone posts dramatic increase in diamond exports
26th August 2010 · 0 Comments
FREETOWN — Diamond exports from Sierra Leone increased by 43 percent in the first half of 2010 over the same period last year, reaching 51 million dollars, the Government’s Gold and Diamond Office said Wednesday.
In the first six months of 2009 exports had “totalled 35,885,291.57 dollars”, said a press release.
However this was still far from the boom years of 2005 and 2007 which saw the highest exports “since the Kimberley Certification project was implemented in 2000″.
The Kimberley process seeks to ensure the sale of diamonds does not fund violence.
“In 2005, 668,709.14 carats were exported valued at 141,940,243.85 dollars while in 2007, 803,823.04 carats valued at 141,565,885.20 dollars were exported,” said the press release.
Deputy Mining Minister Ignatius Koroma told AFP the figures showed that a “recent decision to reduce the fee for the export licence for diamond dealers by five percent has paid dividends”.
The government reduced export license costs from 40,000 dollars to 35,000 dollars due to a drop in demand for the gem amid a slowing in the diamond market.
Sierra Leone’s government has stepped up efforts to control the trafficking of diamonds across its borders.
Illegal trading of conflict-funding “blood diamonds” was rife in the country’s decade-long civil war which ended in 2002.
The country’s diamond industry has been in the spotlight recently with the testimony of supermodel Naomi Campbell at the war crimes trial of former Liberian president Charles Taylor.
Campbell said she had been given uncut diamonds as a gift by Taylor, 62, who is accused of receiving “blood diamonds” in return for arming rebels who murdered, raped and maimed Sierra Leone civilians during the conflict.
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