Sierra Leone's June Diamond Exports Rise to 41,880 Ct

(IDEX Online News) – Sierra Leone exported 41,880 carats in June of this year, according to a Bloomberg report, citing Sierra Leone's central bank. The country's single largest diamond source is the Koidu diamond mines.

Month over month, exports in June jumped by 25.2 percent from 33,450 carats exported in May.

Data from the country is released inconsistently, and no official numbers were provided for June 2010. Assuming that the country exported its entire diamond production in June 2010, exports fell by 22.8 percent from 54,262.21.

Except Koidu, practically all of Sierra Leone's diamond production is by artisan diggers along riverbanks. It is believed that while the country attempts to control alluvial digging by issuing licenses, a certain percentage of the goods are smuggled out of the country.

Total diamond shipments were 204,890 carats for the six months through June, Joseph Pessima, a senior economist at the central bank, told Bloomberg.