Diamonds in the rough

Every day of the week the diamond diggers or miners in the villages surrounding Mbuji-Mayi area sell the diamonds they found the day before to the buyers at the “comptoirs” [counters]. These buyers in turn take the diamonds to Mbuji-Mayi where they are sold to the next level.

rough diamonds

sorting diamonds by color

buyer at his counter

I observed the buyer sorting diamonds according to color.  I was told there is a fixed price per carat, but the variation in price depends on the color and quality.

hillside pockmarked with abandoned and active mines

The diamonds come from artisanal mines all around the area as well as people sieving stream beds where the right gravel shows up.  The “mines” are holes, about 3 feet in diameter, dug down to the level where the gravel is.  If the right gravel is found out at the base of the hill, they will keep digging deeper and deeper holes as they follow the gravel layer farther into the hillside.  I saw mines which were 10, 16 and 50 feet deep.  Sometimes the diggers will also dig sideways once down to theh layer.  These sideways tunnels can go out as another 16 feet in any direction.  And yes, there are casualties.  There are cave-ins.

The diamond “mine” in the video below is 17 meters, about 53 ft, deep and then goes out to the side.  He is digging in a watery gravel layer so sends up much each time.

For another report on this mining go to the following link:

http://time.com/4011617/inside-the-democratic-republic-of-congos-diamond-mines/