The world of gemstones: West Africa

Diamonds from West Africa are almost all from placers (river deposits). In Guinea the diamonds are found in the rainforests and in Sierra Leone diamonds are present throughout the territory and 70% of the stones found are of gem quality.

Today, the best quality diamonds are found in Sierra Leone.

Ghana is another diamond producing country, but the stones found are very small and 90% of mined diamonds are only industrial grade.

The best known mine in Tanzania is the Mwadui, the first African mine, outside of South Africa, to become world famous for diamond mining. The mine has been operational since it was established in 1940 by John Williamson, a Canadian geologist, making it one of the oldest diamond mines in the world.

Since its founding, the mine produced over 19 million carats of diamonds. Today 75% of the mine is owned by Petra Diamonds and the remaining 25% by the Government of Tanzania.

Diamonds from Guinea

Production is mainly alluvial with the diamonds being found in the river beds.

It's in the Banankoro region that we can find the largest and most beautiful stones. Further north, the region of Kindia also hides some treasures. Two exceptional stones of 250 and 180 carats were discovered in 1989 and in early 1993, a stone of 284 carats was discovered in the Aredor mine. Measuring about 9 inches long and 4 inches wide, this gem was sold in Antwerp for the tidy sum of $ 8,000,000 to a Lebanese trader from Geneva.

Despite controls by mining companies and the government, smuggling remains a major problem in Guinea perpetrated by some 5,000 to 20,000 miners. The problem began at the beginning of the 1960s when more than 30,000 miners from Sierra Leone literally plundered the Avila and Feredou sites ... Today, the firm Aredor makes more than 250 arrests per month, with an estimated annual loss of more than $ 80 million.

It is very difficult to work in this country, and risks are high. Political instability makes the social climate and the very unsettled situation in neighbouring Sierra Leone tends to rub off on Guinea ...

However, we maintain an office in Conakry, which specializes in the purchase of rough diamonds. The exceptional quality of the stones of this region encourages us to invest in West African countries.