Diamonds in the Rough
StStar
of Sierra Leone By A1gard
https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=79030299
We all know the term “blood diamonds.” They are diamonds that have been used to finance African warlords, fund a military coup or support any rebel faction intent on killing their opposition. During our hero’s time in Liberia, however, the blood had not yet begun to flow. It was the 1960’s and the wealthy Americos had an iron grip on Liberian society and government. That’s not to say that it wasn’t an extremely dangerous and lucrative business, but the majority of diamonds were smuggled into Liberia from neighboring countries.
Liberia, being an independent republic for over a hundred years, had been bypassed by the international diamond cartels that set the prices of diamonds in the rest of the world. All prices in the Republic were set, therefore, by the local gem market, no matter where they came from. Liberia was a diamond smuggler’s paradise.
“A rough diamond might begin its journey a thousand miles to the east by residing in the bowels of a closely watched native miner who, under the guns of overseers, would swallow the muddy gems and pass them later in the night outside the mining area. From as far away as Chad or Upper Volta, a gem would travel first by overland trails then be sold surreptitiously to the Mandingos. From there, it would move by motorized transport or bush taxi to Bamako or Ouagadougou. It would change hands a few times before beginning the long journey west, possibly in a chartered taxi with a number of Mandingo merchants.“
Unlike neighboring Sierra Leone where the country was literally cluttered with diamond mines, Liberia’s mining business was in its infancy. What mines they had were far inland and approachable only by air. They were also all artisanal, which is to say, that it was done with minimal technology and generally illegal. Countries like South Africa, on the other hand, had a sophisticated diamond industry and would tunnel deep below the earth’s surface with heavy machinery.
.jpg/:/rs=w:1280)
The actual creation of a diamond begins approximately 100 miles underground where extreme heat and pressure crystallize carbon into rough diamonds. Volcanic eruptions, that took place in the Jurassic era, known as kimberlite pipes, as well as igneous dykes pushed the diamonds to the surface. So, the search for diamonds starts with the search for kimberlite. Some say that digging under a termite mound is a good place to begin as the termites have already dug deep into the ground revealing the existence, or not, of kimberlite.
Liberia’s pre-civil war low-tech mining is referred to as alluvial diamond production, because the search is focused on the soil deposits created from water flowing over kimberlite flood plains or in riverbeds. It was wet, back breaking labor in extreme heat, and it was done by men, women and children. To this day, there are open pits where workers pan for diamonds. Diamonds are handed over as soon as they are found in hopes of locating more nearby and, of course, to eliminate smuggling.
.jpg/:/rs=w:1280)
In South Africa it was a different story and smuggling was made very difficult. Some of the mines were like huge concentration camps with dogs and guards patrolling the perimeter day and night. To leave the premises, workers’ stomachs would be x-rayed. If a spot was found by the scanner, he’d be put in the hospital and thoroughly purged. Many workers would swallow pebbles or nails to see if the “white man’s magic” really worked. And guess what. It did.
No comments:
Post a Comment