S Leone diamond exports sparkle
11/01/2008 16:40  - (SA)  

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Freetown - Sierra Leone exported 603 623 carats of diamonds in 2007, in line with the previous year, but the value of sales rose to $142m as quality improved, a government official said on Friday.

Director of Mineral Resources Alimamy Wurie said the value of exports had increased from $127m in 2006, when 603 868 carats were exported.

"The 2007 total carats figure is less than 2006, but this year the carats were worth more," Wurie told Reuters.

The value of Sierra Leone's official diamond exports slumped to around $1m a year in the wake of a 1991-2002 civil war.

The West African country has since joined the Kimberley registration process and made strides in curbing smuggling, in collaboration with neighbouring Liberia and Guinea.

The arrival of diamond companies like Koidu Holdings, which operates the country's largest Kimberlite mine, has allowed the government to earn royalties, which were not previously paid by artisanal miners.

Government figures showed that last year the country's largest exporter was Lebanese diamond dealer Hussein Makie, who shipped 269 499 carats valued at $55m, Wurie said.

Koidu Holdings was second with 147 376 carats valued $28m, he said.

Koidu, owned by Israeli diamond magnate Beny Steinmetz, saw its activities suspended by the government in mid-December after a riot at its site in eastern Sierra Leone.

The managing director of Koidu Holdings, Jan Jourbert, said the company was still waiting for a government enquiry to begin.

"With the suspension of our Kimberlite operation by the government over two weeks now the company has been losing millions of dollars, and so has the government," he said.