Mikko Takkunen | Photographer

SIERRA LEONE: Diamond Mining

Diamonds are a huge business in Sierra Leone. The civil war was largely fought over the dominance of the diamond mining areas in eastern parts of the country. The main diamond districts are Kono and Kenema, but there are mines also around the second city Bo, which streets are lined with diamond offices. These following photographs are from a small town called Mamboma, roughly 10 miles from Bo, in southern Sierra Leone. Mining began in the area in the early 1960s but the local community has benefited very little from diamonds. The rebels burned the entire town during the war, and the population fled to the bush. Nearly all the huts and houses in Mamboma have been built after the war. The natural environment has suffered greatly from the diamond mining, as forsaken pits have left the soil destroyed making it impossible to use that land for farming. Diamond mining continues in Mamboma, but at a small scale compared to the Kono and Kenema districts. There are dozens of small pits in Mamboma, most of which have less than ten workers, compared to the mines with hundreds of workers in some of the big mines in Kono and Kenema. Mining is a very popular profession among young men, despite the fact that pay is poor and infrequent. The workers get paid only when diamonds are found, and even then their share of the profits remain miniscule. None of the miners will ever get to experience any of the the luxury associated with diamonds. The wealth is created later in the production chain, when the diamonds are exported abroad to cities like Tel Aviv in Israel and Antwerp in Belgium.

Diamond pit owner Mr Umaru Jalloh shows off the green diamonds which he will eventually sell to the diamond dealers in Bo.
  
The miners spend the dry season gathering gravel which is later washed to find the diamonds.
  
Mr Augustin Sandi, 33. Mr Sandi is a former Methodist Church pastor, who left his position as the monthly salary of 60,000 Leones (20USD) was not enough to support to his wife and five children. He came to Mamboma for diamond mining late 2007 with the expectation of being able to make as much as 500,000 Leones a month (167USD). However, during the first four months he has not been paid once. The dry season is spent gathering the gravel and miners are paid only if something is found. Most of the washing is done between mid-April and late autumn every year. Even when some of the precious stones are found, the miners’ pay will remain far short of 500,000 Leones. Mr Sandi told me he hopes to return to his church sometime in the future.
     
  
The miners spend the dry season gathering gravel which is later washed to find the diamonds. Almost everything is done by hand.
   
Miners clearing gravel to make a washing pit. Almost everything is done by hand.
   
The gravel is being washed in order to find the diamonds. The miners will only get paid when some of the precious stones are found.
     
  
Despite working long hours, the miners can only afford a very simple lunch, in this case raw cassava root with red palm oil.
   
The gravel is being washed in order to find the diamonds. The miners will only get paid when some of the precious stones are found.
   
Mr Ismael Moriba, 27. Diamond mining is one of the main professions among young men in Mamboma. A lot of them have started at a very young age, some of them as young as ten years old. Mr Moriba started to work in the pits when he was 21.