The Diamonds of Sierra Leone

Published May 28, 2012
A resident walks by a diamond dealer's shop in Koidu, the capital of the diamond-rich Kono district, in eastern Sierra Leone.
A resident walks by a diamond dealer's shop in Koidu, the capital of the diamond-rich Kono district, in eastern Sierra Leone.
A diamond prospector filters earth from a river on April 28, 2012, in Koidu, the capital of the diamond-rich Kono district, in eastern Sierra Leone.
A diamond prospector filters earth from a river on April 28, 2012, in Koidu, the capital of the diamond-rich Kono district, in eastern Sierra Leone.
Diamond prospectors filter earth from a river on April 28, 2012, in Koidu, the capital of the diamond-rich Kono district, in eastern Sierra Leone.
Diamond prospectors filter earth from a river on April 28, 2012, in Koidu, the capital of the diamond-rich Kono district, in eastern Sierra Leone.
Diamond prospectors filter earth from a river on April 28, 2012, in Koidu, the capital of the diamond-rich Kono district, in eastern Sierra Leone.
Diamond prospectors filter earth from a river on April 28, 2012, in Koidu, the capital of the diamond-rich Kono district, in eastern Sierra Leone.
A worker walks past one of the three crushing circuits at the diamond mining company Koidu Holdings plant, in Koidu, the capital of the diamond-rich Kono district, in eastern Sierra Leone.
A worker walks past one of the three crushing circuits at the diamond mining company Koidu Holdings plant, in Koidu, the capital of the diamond-rich Kono district, in eastern Sierra Leone.
A boy drinks from a water tap in a 'new town' built by the diamond mining company Koidu Holdings, which aims to provide access to clean drinking water, education and training, free healthcare and infrastructure, in Koidu, the capital of the diamond-rich Kono district, in eastern Sierra Leone.
A boy drinks from a water tap in a 'new town' built by the diamond mining company Koidu Holdings, which aims to provide access to clean drinking water, education and training, free healthcare and infrastructure, in Koidu, the capital of the diamond-rich Kono district, in eastern Sierra Leone.
Excavators take part in work at the diamond mining company Koidu Holdings plant, in Koidu, the capital of the diamond-rich Kono district, in eastern Sierra Leone.
Excavators take part in work at the diamond mining company Koidu Holdings plant, in Koidu, the capital of the diamond-rich Kono district, in eastern Sierra Leone.
A man looks at work at the diamond mining company Koidu Holdings plant, in Koidu, the capital of the diamond-rich Kono district, in eastern Sierra Leone.
A man looks at work at the diamond mining company Koidu Holdings plant, in Koidu, the capital of the diamond-rich Kono district, in eastern Sierra Leone.

Small-scale artisanal mining has sustained this area since diamonds were discovered in 1930, and it was here that the 968.9-carat Star of Sierra Leone was found in 1972 the largest alluvial diamond ever found. Koidu also suffered some of the worst ravages of Sierra Leone's war in the nineties as rebels forced citizens to mine at gunpoint. But surface diamonds are near-depleted and only capital-intensive mining can reach the gems.  On the other side of town, Koidu Holdings, a mining company owned by Israeli diamond magnate Beny Steinmetz, is testing a new plant built to process the diamonds from its two vertical kimberlite mines as part of a $150 million (115 million euro) expansion plan. – Photo and text by AFP

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