Sierra Leone: Sierra Leone To Miss Diamond Export Target Due To Ebola Outbreak
Aug 31, 2014
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Albert Robinson, IDEX Online
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Sierra Leone Deputy Minister of Mineral Resources Abdul Ignosis Koroma said the government would miss its target of exporting $200 million in diamonds this year because of the Ebola outbreak.
Sierra Leone exported $186 million of diamonds in 2013. Ignosis Koroma said miners were too afraid to go to alluvial diamonds pits in the Ebola-stricken east and tough border controls to curb the spread of the virus were also hurting the trade, according to Reuters. Several international companies in the region have pulled out expatriate staff in recent weeks. Iron ore miner London Mining, whose only operating mine is in Sierra Leone, said recently that Ebola could hurt its production this year.