Sierra Leone | Sierra Leone Revival |

Sierra Leone | Sierra Leone Revival | Geography | Climate | People and Languages | Economy | History | Government | The diamond fields of Sierra Leone

Sierra Leone | Sierra Leone Revival | Geography | Climate | People and Languages | Economy | History | Government | The diamond fields of Sierra Leone

BMC has established a close working relationship with three of the most important Paramount Chiefs, through the family connections of our Sierra Leone Director T.I. Tucker, who is himself the elder son of a well known Paramount Chief in Sierra Leone and a major land owner. A close working relationship has also been developed with the Ministry of Natural Resources (Mining Division).

Geography
Sierra Leone is situated on the West Coast of Africa, latitudes 7° and 10° North and longitudes 10.50° and 13° West. It is bounded on the North and North East by the Republic of Guinea, on the east and southeast by Liberia and on the West and South by the Atlantic Ocean with a coastline stretching some 300 miles extending from the boundary with the Republic of Guinea to the north of the mouth of the Great Scarcies river on to southeast at the mouth of Mano river.

From an approximately 70 mile wide coastal belt of low lying land the country rises to a mountain plateau near the eastern frontier, to a height of some 4,000 to 6,000 feet in the rich timber forest region. The western area consists of the Sierra Leone Peninsula, the small islands of Sherbro, Tasso, Plantain, Banana, Turtle, York and others, as well as areas of inland territory approximately 255 square miles in all. The country has a total land area of some 27,925 square miles (73,326 sq km),with a population of four million people. Freetown, the capital and main commercial centre, has the highest density per sq km, and roughly about a quarter of the inhabitants of the western area are Krios.

The Peninsula on which Freetown stands is 25 miles long and 10 miles wide. A mountainous promontory, it rises in places to 300 feet above sea level, and is one of the few parts on the West African Coast where there is such high land so near the sea. This area has one of the world's best white sandy beaches, azure seas, pulsating resorts where the lush green forest spills down the hillsides to meet the most beautiful and unspoilt beaches.

Climate
Sierra Leone is a tropical country with temperatures averaging 80°F (26°C). There are two seasons; the Dry Season, from November to April, has the best holiday weather; and the Wet or Rainy Season is from May to October.

People and Languages
Population of 4,726,000 (1995). Also includes several thousand Lebanese, Indians, Pakistanis, and refugees from Liberia. Literacy rate 15%; blind population 28,000 (1982 WCE); deaf institutions 5.

The main religions are Muslim, Christian, and Traditional.

The official and commercial language of the country is English. Each of the 15 main ethnic groups has its own ethnic language, with the Temnes and Mendes comprising two‑thirds of the population. However, an important vehicle of communication is Krio, the 'Lingua Franca', which is widely spoken within the country.

Economy
Agriculture is the backbone of the nation's economy. About 80 per cent of the country's manpower is engaged in agricultural activities. The social organisation of agriculture is still based on land tenure. The land is communally owned by the tribe, but legal ownership is vested in the Chief on trust for the whole tribe. This practice is predominant in the rural areas. Land can also be inherited in some tribal communities which cannot be sold or bought by non‑members. However, land tenure does not apply to the Western Area where the West European system of land tenure applies.

Diamonds and other minerals still form a substantial portion of the country's export earnings. The main diamond and gold mining areas are in the Eastern Province: Tongo Field in the Kenema District, Yengema, Njaima Sewafe, Njaima Nimikoro, Tumbudu, Sefadu, and Koidu in the Kono District. There is alluvial mining also in the South. Gold mining also takes place in the Tonkolili and Koinadugu Districts in the Northern Province.

Visitors are advised that it is illegal to buy or smuggle diamonds or gold out of the country without the necessary licences. Other important products that are also traded for export are timber, gold, bauxite, ruble, iron ore, coffee and ginger.

Industrialisation is making steady progress, although it has been hampered in recent times by a rebel war. This pace will be considerably accelerated when the hydroelectric project at Bumbuna is complete.

Before being discovered by Europeans, the original local name for what is now 'Freetown' was 'Romarong', meaning the place of the 'Waders'; so called because of the constant weeping and screaming of victims of storm and cross current disasters at the mouth of the Sierra Leone river. (Interestingly, when the Portuguese sailor, Pedro da Cintra called the country by its present name 'Sierra Lyoa', he had not deviated much from the concept of the indigenous people of names based on the observation of nature. During the latter half of the 18th Century, Bunce Island was one of the major slave trading operations on the Rice Coast of West Africa. Sierra Leone was for many years used as a slave trading outpost until it was gradually phased out and later, in the 18th century, it became a settlement for freed slaves after the English philanthropist

Granville Sharpe, who was deeply concerned about the welfare of freed slaves, published his proposal to take them all back to Africa and settle them there where they could prosper in a genial climate. Much has been written of the traumatic history of the Slave Trade, but one of the most courageous stories of the fight of Sierra Leoneans against slavery is the story of the Amistad. Part of the legacy of the Slave Trade can still be seen in the USA, amongst the Gullah, who still retain many cultural traits from their origins in Sierra Leone.

Through its period of British colonisation, Sierra Leone also served as the seat of Government for other British Colonies along the West African Coast. The first college for higher education in West Africa and indeed in tropical Africa, Fourah Bay College, was established in Sierra Leone in 1827. The country is therefore well known for its early achievements in the fields of medicine, law and education which originally earned it the name, 'the Athens of West Africa'.

Freetown, the capital, seat of government and centre of all commercial activities in the country has spread considerably, from its population of a mere 7,400 in 1874 to about 700,000 inhabitants now; and this figure is still growing. Freetown also provides natural anchorage and berthing facilities for ships at the Queen Elizabeth II Quay, the third largest natural harbour in the world. The City contains many important buildings and landmarks of historical and cultural interest, the most prominent and significant of which is the Cotton Tree, standing almost in the centre of Freetown, and reputed to be more than 300 years old.

Sierra Leone's recent history has been marred by a rebel war which began in 1991 and lasted until July 7 1999 when a peace agreement was signed between the Government and the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) the group that had been waging the war.

Government
Sierra Leone became an independent, Sovereign state within the Commonwealth on 27 April 1961, thus ending its British administration. Ten years later, on 19 April 1971, the country became a Republic, with its own elected President as Head of State. In 1978, the country became a one‑party state with the All People's Congress (APC) in power. In 1991, a mufti party democratic constitution was adopted, and mufti party elections scheduled for 1992. However, the army, led by Captain Valentine Strasser, overthrew the APC government in April 1992 and formed the National Provisional Ruling Council (NPRC) which ruled the country for four years. The current President, Alhaji Ahmad Tejan Kabbah, was democratically elected and voted into office, in 1996.

The concept of government was influenced for a long time by the British model of a Parliament of elected Members drawn from national constituencies, with a Cabinet of Ministers responsible for Government Departments. The government was headed by a Prime Minister until 1971 when a Republic was declared and the British Monarch ceased being Head of State. The 1991 Constitution is modelled on the American system, with an Executive President. Government also encompasses and recognises the roles of local Chiefs and Chiefdoms. These two cultural practices of government are combined to form the single platform upon which the Republic is governed.

The alluvial diamond mining fields cover most of the Eastern Province of Sierra Leone, and the Eastern half of the Southern Province. If a boundary is drawn to encompass all the fields, the total area enclosed is about 7,700 square miles, but within this area only about 12% cent can be regarded as diamond mining country, and the aggregate area of actual diamond bearing alluvial ground is only 80 square miles, or about one per cent. The town of Kenema, which is roughly at the centre of the diamond fields, is the administrative centre of the Alluvial Diamond Mining Scheme, and is also the headquarters of the Eastern Province.

Kenema and many of the other principal towns are linked directly to the Capital, Freetown, by the railway, which bisects the fields from East to West. The Southern and central fields have a good network of main and secondary roads, and are connected by main roads to Freetown. The distance from Freetown to Kenema by road is 252 miles, much of it Tarmac, and the journey generally takes about six hours. The northern fields, that is those of Kono district, have an adequate road network, although the surfaces are sometimes rather poor. The distance from Freetown to Yengema, via the new Masinghi road it is about 200 miles. There are airfields at Bo, Kenema and Yengema, all of which are serviced by Sierra Leone Airways.

The climate of the diamond fields is wet tropical monsoon, with a single wet season each year. The average annual rainfall is about 100 inches overall, but it is generally a little higher in the South East and a little lower in the North. The greater part of this rain falls in the wet season, from mid May to mid‑November. The wettest month is usually August, but rivers attain maximum discharge in mid September. There is very little rain in December, January, and February. River discharge is at its lowest in March and April, and begins to increase in May, but groundwater levels do not rise significantly until late July. The normal temperature range is 70°F to 92°F although it can exceptionally drop as low as 50°F at night in Kono, during January. Day temperatures average 88°F in the dry season and 82°F in the wet season. 

The original vegetation throughout the diamond fields was tropical rainforest, but over most of the regions, the forest has been destroyed to make way for farms. Residential areas of primary forest remain where the population is sparse, that is, in the Goal Forest in the extreme South‑East, in the rugged country adjacent to the Sewa above Jaiama, and in the three major hill ranges. Elsewhere the land has all been farmed on the shifting cultivation system, and is normally covered with a dense secondary bush whose height varies with the number of years that have elapsed since the ground was farmed. In the north where rainfall is less, there are large areas were the secondary bush has been replaced by elephant grass, with shrubs and trees persisting only along the watercourses.

The coastal plains form three fifths of South East Sierra Leone, the rest of the region consisting of the sheltered and partially dissected southern margin of the interior plateau. Most of the actual diamond fields display subdued topography of low convex hills separated by a network of shallow swamp and stream valleys, with occasional hills; this topography is typical, not only of the plains of the South but also of the valley floors between plateau surfaces where they remain undissected.

Much of the plateau in this region has in fact been deeply dissected to form rugged country of steep granite hills separated by broad stream valleys; where this has happened, remnants of the plateau surface may occasionally survive as flat hilltops. Although such dissected topography forms about one‑fifth of South East Sierra Leone, diamond fields are rarely associated with it. The outstanding physical features of the region are the three principal hill ranges formed by steep, forested ridges which rise 600 ft to 1200 ft above the rest of the surrounding country. These are the Kambui, Nimini and Gori Hills, and the backbone of each ranges a belt of metamorphic rocks of the Kambui Schist Series, striking roughly North‑South. The plains and plateaus represent, of course, a series of plantation surfaces initiated during different periods of geological time.

The first diamond was found in 1930, in Kono and subsequent exploration established that there was extensive alluvial diamond fields in many parts of the region and an exceptionally rich group of deposits in the Koidu area. Sierra Leone of overlaps the margin of the West African crater and the diamond feels are situated entirely on early pre‑Canadian basement foundations within the crater. The principal rock type is grandiorite gneiss. These rocks are cut by several fractures systems which exercise close control over the drainage pattern and by numerous narrow dolerite dikes. All rivers have a stair stepping profile, with rock bars every two or three miles, and the major rivers are rarely able to form a wide flood plain.

All alluvial diamond concentration is in the river channel gravels, flood plain gravels, terrace gravels, gravel residues in soil, and swamps. Values in these deposits vary over a very wide range, but most of the gravels which are recovered carry between 0.2 and 1.5 carats per cubic yard. The diamonds are accompanied in the gravels by a wide variety of heavy minerals such as corundum. When water‑borne, it indicates the presence of alluvial residues in soil and swamps. In stream gravel it is useful as an indicator of points of alluvial concentration. When magnesium limonite and pyrone are present in deposits, it will indicate the direction and proximity of the Kimberlite pipes. The distribution of alluvial diamonds reflects not only the distribution of source rocks, but also a past and present drainage routes. The location of these controlling factors has been principally determined by major lines of structural weakness in the granitic basement, which therefore exercise a predominant influence over diamond distribution.

The alluvial diamond fields of Sierra Leona produced have produced over 32 million carats of diamonds since they were discovered in 1930 and all indications are there are still substantial undeveloped resources, both alluvial and primary.

The most important diamond fields are those of Kono, Tongo and the Sena Valley. In the Kono and Tongo, the deposits are mostly in the flood plains and low terraces of streams and small rivers in the Sena valley, however, the principal deposits are mostly those in the Sena itself, a wide river with a rocky irregular bed. There are also narrow terrace deposits beside the river and swamp deposits are scattered over the valley floor. Groups of swamps, streams and terrace deposits occur in many other parts of South‑East Sierra Leone, but these are of lesser importance in terms of production.

Kimberlite outcrops have been discovered in two separate areas: The Koilu area, in Kono and the Tongo area, 30 miles to the South. Almost all of the Kimberlite bodies are in the unusual form of narrow anastomotic dikes of uncontaminated porphyritic Kimberlite. Five small pipes have been found, which although they consists principally of typical Kimberlite breccia, also contain bodies of inclusion free Kimberlite and breccia of abnormal texture. Underground development of Kimberlite has recently begun in the Koidu areas. The two Kimberlite areas constitute only a very small part of the diamond fields, and some high‑grade alluvial deposits are 70 miles from the nearest known Kimberlite group. Nevertheless heavy mineral sampling campaigns have failed to detect significant amounts of Kimberlitic indicator minerals anywhere except in the vicinity of the known zones and most workers have therefore concluded that virtually all the diamonds in the fields have been derived by alluvial processes from the Koidu or Tongo source areas. However, data recently assembled by the Geological Survey point to the opposite conclusion, that is, that there are diamonds sources in all parts of the fields. The nature of these sources remains unknown, but they are seemingly deficient in the normal indicator minerals, and they may well differ from Kimberlites in other important respects

Sierra Leone Selection Trust began alluvial diamond mining operations in 1932, and has now produced a total of 10.6 million carats from the Kono and Tongo deposits. Over the last 10 years production has averaged 660,000 carats per annum. The company's alluvial reserves appear to be adequate to sustain production at present levels for at least 12 years; whether any part of the diamond resources in Kimberlite bodies can also be classified as payable reserves is not yet established. Illicit mining and smuggling of diamonds began in 1950; the illicit mining was superseded by licensed mining in 1956, but it is only in the last two years that smuggling has finally been reduced to negligible proportions. Alluvial diamond mining by licensed diggers has now become an established and stable feature of the economy, and provides income and employment for about 25,000 men. The total past production from licensed and illicit mining is estimated at 12.8 million carats, of which 4.9 million carats are estimated to have been illegally exported. Annual production had been about 800,000 carats per annum as of 1965. Presently annual production is averaging 650,000 carats per annum.

Total resources of alluvial diamonds remaining in the known fields, excluding S L S T reserves, are estimated to be 16.6 million carats, but 6.7 million of these are in deep gravels whose exploitation will entail heavy capital investment and skilled management. It is considered that several small alluvial fields remain to be found, and a systematic search for these will soon be necessary, if a steady decline in licensed mining is to be averted. Important underground diamond resources are almost certainly present in Kimberlites or other source rocks in many parts of the established a alluvial fields. Some difficulty in finding these source rocks is anticipated, because of the apparent lack of indicator materials, but a list has been compiled of suggested target areas. Finally, exploration of certain sections of the country for Kimberlite pipes is most strongly advocated even where there axe no extensive alluvial diamond fields.

It is by no means certain exactly when illicit mining of alluvial diamonds began in Sierra Leone. All reports agree that really serious illicit digging only began in 1952, stimulated and encouraged by the arrival of numerous foreign miners and dealers, principally from Guinea.

In 1955, there were tens of thousands of men engaged in illicit mining, which by this time had spread throughout the diamond fields. However, as more licensed mining permits were issued particularly through the last 30 years, the Sierra Leone Ministry of Mines was able to monitor more effectively and regulate more efficiently.

The Alluvial Diamond Mining Scheme came into operation at the beginning of 1956, and has been a most important feature of the economy, since, in most years, about 30,000 men had been engaged in licensed diamond mining. A comprehensive account of the administration of the scheme and of the mining methods employed has been given by Fairbairn (1965); only the salient points will be outlined here.

The scheme is administered and controlled by the mines division of the Ministry of Lands, Mines and Labour and is under the general supervision of an Assistant Chief Inspector of Mines, who is assisted by two or three Inspectors of Mines.Area Superintendents are responsible for the issue of licences and a assisted by about 25 wardens whose duties are to provide close field control of the mining areas. Alluvial Diamond Mining Licences which cover an area of not more than 400 square feet and which are valid for six months can only be issued to Sierra Leone citizens or to Native Companies.

Three methods of mining the riverbed deposits are employed 1) :Diving 2) Dam building and 3) Gravel pumping by airlift

Skin diving has been popular from the earliest days of river mining, and is carried out in relatively shallow water with the aid of a stick tripod, erected on the riverbed. Although diving was arduous and sometimes hazardous, very large numbers of men were formerly engaged in its every dry season, and their enthusiasm was due to the fact that the bed of the river contained many small pockets of abnormally enriched gravel. Although a diver might bring up only one‑forth cubic yard in the course of a day, this was well worthwhile when recoveries were usually between 2 and 15 carats per cubic yard. In recent years, diving activity has considerably demisted and many of the remaining divers now use aqualung equipment.

The construction of earth filled coffer dams, to seal off portions the river bed, began in 1953 and has been responsible for a major part of Sewa diamond production since 1960. Groups of licence holders often join together to form a Native Company for dam construction. The area enclosed by the dam is pumped dry, and the gravel thus exposed is removed manually; as dam building, pumping and gravel extraction can take place only at times of minimum river discharge, all the work must be completed within a period of about three months. Mined gravel is stockpiled and treatment does not begin until mining is completed, or is terminated by dam failure due to increasing river discharge in early May.

Gravel pumping by pontoon mounted airlift is undertaken principally by a small native companies working along the Sewa and Bafi. The equipment will only operate efficiently in moderately deep water and it has been successfully used up to depths of up to 60 ft along the Sewa. It has been noticed that the most successful airlift operations are always those where aqualung divers are used to locate gravel and position the pipe, while equipment which is unguided at the river bed usually fails to bring up payable gravel.

Mining of swamps, flats and lower terrace deposits is carried out exclusively by hand methods, although small petrol‑driven pumps are widely used for dewatering the pits. The work is done by small gangs of tributors,who are not paid wages, but who receive a portion, usually two‑thirds of the sale proceeds of the diamonds recovered. The licence holder has very little control over his tributors and each gang digs its own individual pits down to the gravel. Mining of the low and medium grade deposits is extremely selective and the miners have developed considerable skill in removing only the gravel with good values, with the result that most of the deposits are inefficiently mined. The mining is termed inefficient not only because diamonds are left in the ground but also because the number of man‑hours required to extract and treat each cubic yard of gravel is unnecessarily high. The proportion of gravel left as pillars depends on the depth of overburden, the values present and the pattern of diamond bearing gravel.

Sierra Leone | Sierra Leone Revival | Geography | Climate | People and Languages | Economy | History | Government | The diamond fields of Sierra Leone