Sierra Leone Exports 125-Ct Stone Found Last Year

(IDEX Online News) – Sierra Leone has exported the largest diamond found in the West African country last year - a 125-carat stone.

The diamond, described by the state-run National Minerals Agency as "high quality", was recovered by a miner in the eastern district of Kono in November, the government office said.

The agency, which said it was "the largest single diamond found in Sierra Leone in 2013", did not disclose the export destination of the stone, adding that it was "one of the finest and most valuable reported in the country in recent times".

"What makes the diamond exceptional is the fact that it is very rare for a diamond above 100 carats to maintain its original shape and to be without any crack or ... impurities as was the case of this rare gem," the agency's statement said.

Sierra Leone exported $102 million worth of diamonds in the first half of last year, with the government receiving $5.1 million in taxes from exports, in line with the country's mining code which calls for a 5-percent tax on exports.