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Fact Sheet on Diamonds in Sierra Leone

 

Exports: 2003 $76 million an 85% increase on 2002

Make-up of Salone Diamond Production: About 50% from Kimberlite and 50% from alluvial mines

Comparative to:  Botswana $2 billion/ DRC $642 million

Sierra Leone Projections: $180 million exports by 2006 is on target

 

Sierra Leone’s proportion of world’s diamond annual production = 0.5%

World Annual Diamond harvest = 800 million stones/ about 24 tons

Percentage of world trade controlled by De Beers =65%

 

Cost of Sorting out aftermath of Africa’s diamond wars:

            UNAMSIL (salone), UNMIL(Liberia), MONUC (Demo Rep of Congo) together cost $1.8 billion and 35,000 troops

 

Employment:

            Alluvial Mining biggest employer in Salone after subsistence agriculture @ 120,000 jobs

Wages;

            US50 cents and two cups of rice per day and gang shares 30% of value of any diamonds found. Monthly total is 10 dollars below the Salone minimum wage.

 

Quality:

            Run-of-mine carat value of Salone diamonds is higher than almost any other diamond producing country in the world At  $270/carat the value of Salone production is well above international average due to the proportion of large stones found.

 

Smuggling:

            MMOs (Mines Monitoring Officers) calculate that 50% of diamonds found are smuggled. Global Witness accepts that, says it’s an underestimate USAID says it is 905

Does that mean that the value of the smuggling is $76 million for 2003 and that is worse than wartime?! Diamonds are also smuggled into Salone from Guinea/ Liberia/etc

 

Personalities:

Hishan Mackie exported over $10 million in 2003

74% of all exports were from five companies or individuals, all of them foreign

nationals.

Five “indigeneous citizens” exported more than $1 million in 2003

 

Government Revenue from Diamonds

$5 million in 2004

 

Supervision:

Mines Monitoring Officers establishes 1996 to ensure that:

            All mining is licensed

            Laws and regulations such as those relating to the environment and child labour are observed

            Diamonds are not smuggled out of the country

 Aside…USAID provided 10 motorcycles for the 60 MMOs in Kono in 2004. They are responsible for 1100 licenses, 60 trading offices and one Kimberlite mine. They earn $2 per day

 

Industry Role:

            In resolution of 29th Oct 2002 World Federation of Diamond Bourses and the International Diamond Manufacturers Association required of its members  (i) System of Warranties (ii) Code of Conduct

 

Warranty   “statement on all invoices for the sale of rough and  polished diamonds and jewellery containing diamonds……have been purchased from legitimate sources not involved in funding conflict……… the seller guarantees that thse diamonds are conflict free based on personal knowledge and/or written guarantees provided by the supplier…..

Code of Conduct

(i)

(ii) Not to buy diamonds from suspect or unknown sources of supply and /or that originate in countries that have not implemented the Kimberley Process International Certification Scheme

Aside: in Global Witness and Amnesty International Survey 7% of 333 stores surveyed in the UK indicated that they are providing a warranty certificate for customers confirming the origin of all diamonds sold in the store, 5% provided a warranty for larger/more expensive stones , and 13% provided one on request from the purchaser

 

Kimberley Process began Kimberley, South Africa, May 2000 has 60 member countriesand is ongoing with annual meetings. Diamond exporting countries agreed to certify the origin of the diamonds exported legitimately from their territory. Diamond importing countries agreed to import only diamonds thus certified.

Liberia does not have run a Kimberley Process certification scheme