Liberian Conflicts
The nation of Liberia was created by the 'American Colonization Society' as a destination to send freed African slaves (Americo-Liberians) after the American civil war. In 1847, these Americo-Liberian settlers declared independence as the free 'Republic of Liberia.'
Liberia has been a conduit and vector point for the illicit diamond trade since the 1950s, and the concept of 'blood diamonds' was partially a Liberian creation. Artisanal diamond mines within Sierra Leone and Liberia's 'Mano River Basin' are easy prey for rebel groups who can seize the mines, trading their rough diamonds for weapons and cash.
In 1973, a joint trading, customs and economic union (Mano River Union) between the nations of Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone was created to aid in improving conditions within its member states. Unfortunatly, the Mano River Union did little to stem the tide of violence that spread across the Mano River basin like a wildfire during the 1980s.
Photos (right) - Samuel Doe (bank note) Charles Taylor
Liberia maintained its independence until a successful military Coup d'état in 1980, under the leadership of Samuel Doe, and with the assistance of Libyan-trained rebels supplied by Muammar Gaddafi.
Civil war errupted in 1989, and by 1990 Doe was overthrown and killed by members of the Gio tribe. Interim president Amos Sawyer resigned in 1994, and warlord Charles Ghankay Taylor (another protégée of Muammar Gaddafi) was elected president in 1997. The Washington Post reported that following September 11th, al Qaeda had purchased millions of dollars worth of rough diamonds from Sierra Leone's RUF rebels, using Liberia as a conduit.
Charles Taylor added to his country's problems by agitating conflicts with neighboring Côte d'Ivoire, Guinea, and Sierra Leone throughouts the 1980s and 90s [2]. When the violence reached a tipping point in 2003, a UN peacekeeping force disarmed Liberia's 45,000 strong militia, and charged Taylor with war crimes in a UN 'Special Court for Sierra Leone' (SCSL). Facing an international arrest warrant, and the prospect of criminal trial in the Hague, Taylor was forced into exile in August 2003, fleeing to Nigeria.
In 2002 during a meeting of security ministers from Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone, taking place in Freetown, there were renewed pledges to increase security and stability within the boarder region; yet the fluidity of movements from foreign combatants crossing boarders continues to fuel instability. In 2005 the United Nations Security Council voted unanimously to extend the ban on all Liberian diamond exports [3]. Liberia has hired consulting firms to spearhead efforts to mainstream Liberian natural resources and lift remaining sanctions. Liberia's 'Camp Alpha' area, along Sierra Leone's southern boarder, was also the site of intensive artisanal diamond mining in recent years.
Diamond Mining in Liberia Today
Since the discovery of diamonds in Liberia and Sierra Leone's Mano River basin in the 1930s, regional diamond production has been limited to small-scale artisanal operations, taking place within alluvial diamond-bearing rocks and gravels located in drainage basins, or along the banks of Liberia's many rivers and tributaries.
Although most all of western Liberia's rivers carry diamonds, the Mano has been a significant source. The Mano River basin is part of the Mano Craton of West Africa [4].
Liberian diamond deposits occur primarily within alluvial terrace gravels located along the Lofa River, Mano River and Morro River, in the Lofa province of northeastern Liberia, and in the Gbapa area on the Guinea boarder. The Mano river extends the width of Liberia, from Lofa province through Grand Cape province, and to the sea.
There are several exploratory projects in the works within the Archaean terrain of the Mano River basin of Libera, and foreign investment is starting to pick up. Mano River Resources, Petra Diamonds, Trans Hex, BHP, First Clearing LTD of Liberia, and Diamond Fields International Ltd. (DFI) have several alluvial and kimberlite mining projects in the pipeline, along the Lofa River and Ya creek in north-eastern Liberia, as well as the King George Larjor artisanal project, Grand Cape project, KPO Range Project, and the Mano Godua, Mabong Valley and Yambessi Valley 'Bea Mountains' Project all in western Liberia's Grand Cape province.
