“That has been the historical problem of the
industry. Largely of an alluvial nature, its very high unit value, the ease with which it can be mined — without need for sophisticated processing and transport facilities — its immense attraction to smugglers and other criminal predators, the diamond industry in Sierra Leone is extraordinarily difficult to manage
and control. Indeed it was these very factors
that made the country so vulnerable to instability. But government officials are right to claim that they have made progress in expanding the licit sector. By end of the war, there were fewer than 100 mining licenses; today the number is close to 2,400. And the steady increase in official exports clearly indicates at the very least an improvement in management and control. But the problem is not just illegal mining and smuggling. There is the issue of pricing. The pre-export trade in
diamonds – that is, marketing within Sierra
Leone – is notoriously confusing and opaque.”
