Belgian Diamond Firms Invest in Sierra Leone Mine

RAPAPORT... Diamond wholesaler Samir Gems and jeweler Tach?(C) Company have agreed to fund a Sierra Leone mine in exchange for rights to its rough diamonds.The Antwerp-based companies will partner with Meya Mining, which runs the Meya Project, an operation consisting of numerous kimberlites located within a 129-square-kilometer area. The money will enable the miner to begin commercial production and allow it to reach a minimum output of 30,000 carats per month from the deposit, the Belgian companies said last week.Samir Gems and Tach?(C) Company will also get downstream collaboration rights on exceptional stones from the site.In 2017, Meya recovered the Meya Prosperity, a 476-carat rough, during its first extraction of diamonds from the site in Sierra Leone's Kono district. It sold that stone to Graff for $16.5 million. Meanwhile, Samir Gems and Tach?(C) have previous experience in dealing with exceptional diamonds, including the 342-carat Queen of Kalahari and the 910-carat Lesotho Legend.The first tender of rough from the Meya Project will take place this week, the company added.Image: Rough diamonds. (Meya Mining)