More Diamonds

Workers pan for diamonds in a government-controlled diamond mine near Kenema, Sierra Leone, on June 15, 2001.

Sierra Leone is known for being a mining country that yields natural resources such as bauxite, gold, rutile, but diamonds are the most popular that are yielded.

Sierra Leone is the 10^th largest producer of diamonds in the world. The country relies heavily on diamonds for revenue, and it is also responsible for half of the country’s export. During the countries 11 year civil war, the countries mining nearly came to a halt, and it’s affected the countries’ revenue exponentially.

Even though diamonds are one of the largest natural resources of Sierra Leone, they have not always been a blessing for the country. Blood diamonds (conflict diamonds) became a popular reference for the areas where diamonds originated which were used to fund military action opposed to the government, which field the war. This also enables the illegal trade that took place between groups with the diamonds.

 These blood diamonds also effected Sierra Leone’s people personally. Some of the people were enslaved in the means that they were made to gather diamonds at any means necessary for the opposing groups in the country.

This issue has also affected Sierra Leone’s trade. The Kimberley Process was produced in South Africa which is an agreement that promises and ensures that every diamond that they trade is not a diamond that helps fuel violence. The only issue with this is that Africa has not seen much relief from the trade of blood diamonds.

Overall, Diamonds remain one of Sierra Leone’s largest natural resources, and even though they come with many issues. They still fuel much of Sierra Leone’s revenue.

 References:

Armstrong, P. (2012, May 16). How Africa Fuels Africa's Conflict. Retrieved June 12, 2016, from http://www.cnn.com/2012/04/26/world/africa/blood-diamonds/

Sierra Leone. (2015). Retrieved June 12, 2016, from http://www.resourcegovernance.org/our-work/country/sierra-leone