'By the grace of God': Miners dig on as lab-grown diamonds change market
Summary
The rise of lab-grown diamonds has led to a big drop in prices for natural mined diamonds, causing economic problems for diamond miners in Sierra Leone. The country's largest diamond mine closed last year, and many miners now work informally with little success.Key Facts
- Prices for natural polished diamonds have fallen about 40% in the last four years.
- Lab-grown diamonds are made in factories and cost up to 70% less than natural ones.
- These man-made diamonds are chemically and physically the same as natural diamonds.
- Sierra Leone’s biggest diamond mine, Koidu Holdings, closed last year after a pay dispute and market pressures.
- Informal small-scale mining has increased in Sierra Leone’s Kono region despite poor chances of finding diamonds.
- Diamond mining has been a major part of Kono's economy since the 1930s.
- The Kono region suffered greatly during Sierra Leone’s civil war, largely driven by diamond conflict.
- The Kimberley Process, started in 2003, is an international plan to stop conflict diamonds from being sold.
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