Sierra Leone Needs Stability, It's Blessed with Resources

Dec 12, 2019 | Neil De Beer
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Sierra Leone, like many of its African compatriots, is richly blessed with many natural resources like diamonds, iron, and gold. On February 14, 1972, the country made headlines when the world’s third-largest gem-quality diamond - called the “Star of Sierra Leone” - was discovered in Koidu. 

Historicallydiamonds became the source of unrest, as the rebel groups had control of the major diamond deposits, and they became known as Blood Diamonds, as they fuelled the procurement of arms and gave rise to an uprising in the country for more than four decades.

Today the country remains one of the top 10 largest producers of diamonds in the world, and artisanal mining is still the second-largest employer after agriculture, which in 2017 contributed 60percent to the GDP from such major cash crops as coffee, rice and cocoa.