Liberia's diamonds come from river gravels in the west and northwest of the country, mostly dug by small teams of independent miners. The deposits are modest in size. The country became notorious during its civil wars, when diamonds were used to pay for weapons and Liberia served as a channel for stones smuggled out of neighboring Sierra Leone. The United Nations banned Liberian diamond exports from 2001 to 2007, and Liberia then joined the Kimberley Process.
Where Liberia's diamonds are found
Liberia lies on the West African craton, the same ancient block of crust that underlies the diamond fields of Sierra Leone and Guinea. Its diamonds occur mainly in alluvial deposits, in the gravels of rivers and streams and in old terraces along them. The main diamond areas include Lofa, Gbarpolu and Grand Cape Mount counties, along with parts of the Lofa and Mano river basins near the Sierra Leone border.
Some small kimberlite occurrences have been found in Liberia, but none has become a large mine. The page on diamond geology explains how kimberlites and alluvial gravels relate.
Artisanal mining
Most Liberian diamonds have been mined by artisanal diggers, who work with shovels, picks, buckets and sieves. A typical operation strips away topsoil, digs through to the gravel layer, and washes the gravel in sieves, often in a river or a pit filled with water. Diggers then pick through the concentrate by hand.
Diggers often work for a supporter, a local financier who provides tools, food and sometimes a water pump in return for the right to buy any diamonds at an agreed price. Diamonds pass from diggers to local dealers and then to licensed exporters. Earnings are uncertain, and many diggers live in poverty. The methods resemble those described for alluvial deposits on the page about how diamonds are mined.
Diamonds before the war
Liberia was a small diamond producer for much of the 20th century. By the 1950s and 1960s it had become better known as a trading hub than as a source. Liberia's official diamond exports often appeared much larger than its own geology could support, a gap widely understood to reflect stones smuggled in from Sierra Leone and other neighbors, then exported through Monrovia. Liberia's use of the US dollar and its looser controls made it a convenient route. The wider story of how African rough reached world markets is told in the history of the diamond trade.
Civil wars and smuggling
Liberia went through two civil wars, from 1989 to 1997 and from 1999 to 2003. Charles Taylor, who led a rebel movement in the first war, was elected president in 1997.
During this period, the diamond trade became tied to conflict across the region. In neighboring Sierra Leone, the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) controlled diamond fields during that country's civil war, which ran from 1991 to 2002. UN investigators found that much of the RUF's diamond output was moved through Liberia, and that weapons flowed back to the RUF with the support of Taylor's government. These diamonds became a central example of conflict diamonds.
Taylor left office in 2003 as the war ended. He was later tried by the Special Court for Sierra Leone, sitting in The Hague, and convicted in 2012 of aiding and abetting war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in Sierra Leone. The court's findings included his role in the arms-for-diamonds trade with the RUF.
UN sanctions, 2001 to 2007
In 2001 the UN Security Council imposed a ban on the import of rough diamonds from Liberia, as part of sanctions targeting the Taylor government's support for the RUF. The ban was renewed through the war and the transition that followed. A UN panel of experts monitored compliance and reported on smuggling and on the state of Liberia's diamond controls.
After the war, Liberia's transitional government and then the elected government of Ellen Johnson Sirleaf worked to build a system for tracking and certifying diamonds. The Security Council lifted the diamond ban in April 2007, once Liberia had set up controls that met Kimberley Process standards.
Kimberley Process membership
Liberia joined the Kimberley Process in 2007, the same year the sanctions ended. The Kimberley Process Certification Scheme, which began in 2003, requires member countries to certify that shipments of rough diamonds come from legitimate sources and to trade only with other members. Joining allowed Liberia to export rough diamonds legally again.
Membership did not end every problem. Monitoring artisanal production across a wide, forested area is difficult, and reports from investigators and civil society groups in the following years pointed to continued smuggling across porous borders. The government has worked with donors on programs to register diggers, license dealers and bring more production into official channels.
Artisanal mining since the war
Diamond mining in Liberia has remained mostly artisanal and small scale. Some companies have held licenses to test semi-mechanized alluvial mining or to search for kimberlites, but no large industrial diamond mine has been established. Diamonds remain one of Liberia's mineral exports alongside gold and iron ore, and they provide a livelihood for many rural households.
Development groups have focused on improving conditions for diggers, giving them better access to fair prices and reducing environmental damage from unreclaimed pits. Sierra Leone faced similar issues, and both countries are often studied together. For comparison with another country whose diamonds funded civil war, see diamond mines of Angola. For how rough diamonds from West Africa reach buyers, see the diamond pipeline.
Frequently asked questions
Why were Liberian diamonds sanctioned?
The UN banned Liberian rough diamond imports in 2001 because the Taylor government was supporting Sierra Leone's RUF rebels, partly through a trade in diamonds and weapons.
When were UN sanctions on Liberian diamonds lifted?
The Security Council lifted the diamond ban in April 2007, after Liberia set up controls that met Kimberley Process standards.
Does Liberia have large diamond mines?
No. Liberia's diamonds come mainly from alluvial gravels dug by artisanal miners, and no large industrial diamond mine has been developed.
Is Liberia in the Kimberley Process?
Yes. Liberia joined in 2007, which allowed it to resume legal exports of rough diamonds with Kimberley Process certificates.