Comment and Diary Extracts are written and provided by Hassan Mughal, Founder & Principal of AFRICANGOLDGEMS INTERNATIONAL.

posted on the 18th of January 2011

"I take this opportunity to wish all our customers, past, present and future a very healthy and prosperous 2011. I believe this will be a make or break year for many businesses, nations and commodities in general. With global financial forces looking for solid performing assets and safe bets, I believe gold prices will soar and demand for high quality large carat sized diamonds will pick up. Our source areas of West Africa are once again looking volatile with the crisis in Cote D'Ivoire making the markets nervous. Such events including the probable formation of Southern Sudan as the newest state to the international community of independent nations, Africa as always never sits still. Hopefully, the general situation in the Sudan will settle down after the elections so the two nations can look forward to normalcy. The financial markets always react favourably to successful general elections, and I look forward to new opportunites for our business in mineral rich Southern Sudan".

COMMENT: A tale of 1,001 airline flights...

posted on the 25th of October 2010

"On the 24th of October 2010, whilst on an international flight I had a quick cursory look at my faithful old diary that carries records of all my flights since my inaugural flight as a young child clutching my father's hand back in 1965. To my surprise, I realised I had passed the 1,001 flight mark! Check out my accounts of some of the memorable recollections of those past 35 years!"

posted on the 16th of August 2010

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http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/liberia/7946198/Blood-diamonds-and-Charles-Taylor-the-inside-story.htmlIt would appear that the brother-in-law of Charles Taylor has finally broken cover to graphically discuss Taylor's explicit role in the "blood diamond" barter trade that catalysed the Sierra Leone civil war of the late nineties. Cindor Reeves, currently residing in Canada is the man that the court in The Hague should have been seeking to put on the stand. Leave aside the tittle - tattle of chasing the unholy triumvirate of Naomi Campbell, Mia Farrow and Carol White, the real clues have come from Reeves.

In his interview with the Daily Telegraph, Reeves makes what I consider to be the type of utterances which, if converted to concrete evidence delivered on the witness stand would effectively render a guilty verdict for Charles Taylor. His views come as no surprise to me. The great African continent with its vast size and cocktails of tensions between culture and despot regimes offers a myriad of nooks and crannies for hard line crooked arms dealers. You can see them nestling in seedy guesthouses, in dank bohemian drinking spots hidden from sight thrashing out their next 'arms for diamonds' deal. All this under the noses of normal commercial practices that seem to carry on regardless of this sinister undercurrent. These situations have made work in the independent diamond industry that I work with in Africa challenging to say the least. Compliance measures have brought the industry a very long way, but where sheer greed and disregard for human life exist, who knows where the next civil war fueled by the evil "blood diamond" trade will erupt.

posted on the 5th of August 2010

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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-10877625After months of speculation, conjecture and debate the special court for Sierra Leone war crimes at The Hague in the Netherlands finally saw supermodel Naomi Campbell on the witness stand in former Liberian leader Charles Taylor's indictment. Throughout this long awaited saga of raised expectations surrounding Naomi's appearance, I have long held the view that the exercise would prove nothing more than an insubstantial publicity stunt. Yes, it has raised the profile of the special war crimes court for Sierra Leone, but it has finally failed to prove anything substantial within the definitions of the universally accepted criteria under the law of evidence.

The misery and strife caused by lives diminished through amputations of limbs can be seen all around Sierra Leone today. The sheer scale of lives destroyed by the evil civil war that Charles Taylor is accused of fueling through his alleged "arms for diamonds" barters ranks as one of the world's most unacceptable of all time. The people of Sierra Leone, some of whom I work with, are a shining example of resilience and hope. They are living examples of being victims to man's inhumanity to man. Never in modern times has there been a more compelling case to prosecute anyone involved in the "arms for diamonds" barters that have have caused incalculable suffering, loss of life and mutilations throughout the continent of Africa in the 20th and 21st centuries. Diamonds, which we are proud to trade in, have been accepted by unscrupulous arms dealers as currency to supply modern sophisticated arms.

Naomi Campbell's admission of receiving "a few dirty looking stones in the pouch" has done nothing to prove that Charles Taylor was involved in bartering diamonds for arms that he later used in the civil war. The prosecution will have to find robust tangible evidence against Taylor that can conclusively link him to the evil trade that he used to fuel the civil war.

What the case has done is to highlight the evil of human suffering caused by the Sierra Leone civil war, but also the way in which our industry has been brought into disrepute by the stigma of the evil barter trade. The Kimberley Process has done much to verify and authenticate the source of diamonds to be exported. It has not, in my opinion, shed any light on where the exported diamonds might end up. This is a burning issue in our industry today, and whilst the majority of diamond traders are bona fide, diamonds like any other commodity remain an attractive option in the hands of those who might still seek to circumvent the ever tightening banking system.

posted on the 4th of August 2010

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http://uk.news.yahoo.com/21/20100804/ten-naomi-campbell-to-testify-at-trial-5f8abb3.htmlThe war crimes court at The Hague has finally cornered Naomi Campbell's legal team into convincing her to appear at hearing on the 5th of August 2010 to give testimony about the so called "blood diamond" given to her by the Liberian despot, Charles Taylor. Africangoldgems has pursued this developing story as it highlights the desperate measures international law seeks to invoke in order to justify the connection between the alleged gift and Taylor's involvement in the blood diamond barter trade. This is just another piece of legal inadequacy going out to prove that the law is and can on many occasions be an "ass".

I await Naomi's testimony with baited breath and hope proceedings don't prove to be a farce in trying to test the law of evidence by connecting the alleged gift to Taylor. The prosecution is taking the logic of derivation to a ridiculous limit, and the next few days will reveal more, as Taylor's dealings seem to have more layers than an onion.

COMMENT: Naomi Campbell to be summoned to give evidence

posted on the 7th of July 2010

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It has finally been confirmed in various press reports that Naomi Campbell will now be summoned by the Sierra Leone War Crimes Court in the Netherlands to give testimony against the former leader of Liberia, Charles Taylor. Taylor's prosecution is being sought to prove that he was the mastermind behind the bloody civil war in Sierra Leone in the 1990's. It is also alleged that he funded the civil war by bartering rough diamonds in exchange for sophisticated arms.

Once again, the case raises the important question of dragging a celebrity to prove what might at best be a very marginal legal argument. The Court is trying to prove that if Naomi testifies that Taylor did indeed give her the "large" diamond as is alleged, it will prove that Taylor was in possession or had access to rough diamonds, something he has denied all along. Would it prove that the barter trade of arms for diamonds existed between Taylor and the so called arms dealers who are said to have accepted rough diamonds in exchange for supply of arms?

It is irrelevant, in my opinion whether Taylor had possession of rough diamonds or not. The Court must prove beyond reasonable doubt, backed by first hand corroborated evidence that there was in existence a barter of arms for diamonds. Dragging Naomi into Court and her evidence, whatever it may be will do no such thing. However, I feel its best for Naomi to give evidence in a robust fashion to bring this ridiculous phase in this legal farce to an abrupt end. The prosecutors should turn their attention to those who can give evidence and show in no uncertain terms that those 'arms for diamonds' barters really did exist. However, its time for Naomi to stand up and be counted. For the moment at least, I rest my case on this issue.

COMMENT: Sierra Leone War Crimes Court - Naomi Campbell's diamond

posted on the 21st of May 2010

Check out the original story:  ABC NEWS

Other Sources: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/news/newstopics/celebritynews/7746667/Naomi-Campbell-could-be-forced-to-give-evidence-in-Charles-Taylor-war-crimes-tribunal.htmlThe Daily Telegraph Online

“The war crimes prosecutors seeking to prosecute former Liberian President Charles Taylor are at it again. They are seeking to subpoena Naomi Campbell to give evidence at Taylor’s trial at The Hague.

The legal rationale of trying to create an albeit tenuous linkage between Naomi’s visit to South Africa and Taylor’s “conflict” diamonds sounds like desperation on the part of the prosecutors.

Taylor is seen as the head honcho of the Sierra Leone civil war, allegedly fueling it by bartering diamonds from the country in exchange for arms that did untold damage to people of Sierra Leone. That war has radically altered the conception of our industry and has created a whole plethora of compliance mechanisms in the form of the Kimberley Process, a UN led initiative to root out the open trade of “conflict” diamonds. For the past five years, implementing the Kimberley Process in some countries has made victims out of bona fide diamond traders by slowing down cash flow between the diamond mine and retail outlet. An african head of state giving someone he admires a diamond (which Liberia also produces) in itself is no evidence of his link to the evil trade of bartering “conflict” diamonds.

In a previous Comment, I have mentioned the advent of a practice that is common amongst african heads of state. They usually take valuable gifts, often large quantities of cash to give out as presents to anyone they see fit in the country they are visiting. I can recall a visit to Uganda, at a time when he was labeled international pariah number one, of Colonel Muammar Ghaddafi the Libyan president, strewing the road between Kampala and Fort Portal with wads of US$100 bills. Of course, his generosity at the time was driven by his urge to woo the then Princess of Toro Province, Best Kemigisa, but he was considered to be one of the principal sponsors of international terrorism at the time. Acts such his, as well as Taylor’s gift to Naomi, if indeed she did receive the diamond are commonplace amongst African leaders.

Taylor was head of state for a considerable period of time. What the trial needs to prove beyond reasonable doubt is clear evidence of Taylor’s transactions between himself and an arms trader, through independent, corroborated evidence. Making Naomi a target of this quest is nothing short of a joke. Clearly, the evil trade of bartering diamonds for arms destroyed the lives of hundreds of thousands of ordinary people in Sierra Leone. Naked brutality in the form of maiming, butchering, rape, arbitrary killings and in some cases fueling the fires of dormant tribal wars were just some of the legacies of that war.

I find the prosecution’s bid to subpoena Naomi spurious. How it would prove Taylor’s guilt is deeply arguable. My advice to Naomi, given her role as a good will UN Ambassador, would be to attend the hearing, not via some subpoena, but through her own free will, and give a robust truthful account of the incident she is cited for, and be done with this once and for all."

The night of the Generals (Full Extract)

posted on the 5th of June 2010

I was travelling across two states carrying a consignment of 150 kilograms of gold bullion in a small ramshackle van with the gold supplier and his old driver who had seen better days in his youth. Not knowing what was happening, it seemed I drove into heart of a major crisis. My bodyguard who spoke at least three local languages started panicking when he switched on the radio to hear of steadily erupting violence that the election results had kicked off.

“No problem” said, the supplier. “I will take you across to your side of the border, and your military people will take over the rest of your journey”

“Fine, but no payment, until you get me to my side of the border, okay? There’s no way my client will pay a six figure deposit, until he has tested the gold. That’s the deal” I said, reminding him that we had a gentleman’s agreement.

“Relax, election troubles are normal here. I speak all of the local tongues, we will be fine.” said my supplier, sounding confident and bullish. I didn’t share his optimism because I knew the minority party had declared victory and would use their tribal superiority in the military hierarchy to put down any sign of insurrection throughout the state.

To get to the border we had to avoid the capital city, which was surrounded by a cordon of heavy tanks armed with machine guns. The city, we heard from people fleeing in the opposite direction to us, was teaming with soldiers. I saw a sign showing 18 miles to a remote border post (which we used frequently), where immigration and customs officers who knew me well were waiting to clear us through.

“We are together, buyer and seller, so they shouldn’t be a problem” I told my seller. He nodded in agreement. A few minutes later, as our van was negotiating a right hand bend, a military vehicle carrying over 20 armed soldiers suddenly pulled up in front of us, and signaled us to stop. “Arret sil vous plait!” shouted the commander of the troop in french. “Papiere du voiture, Monsieur, allez, allez!” he screamed, demanding the vehicle papers and our passports. I knew our luck had run out, and this was trouble. Would they shoot us and steal our goods?

I had read in the newspapers some weeks earlier that the soldiers of this state hadn’t been paid for months and they were starving.

“Hey you, white man. Do you have US dollars? Make you give me dollars, I de let you go to border” the commander shouted at me. “My friend, we just want to cross the border. Take me to the border and I will pay you. My people are waiting for me at the border” I explained.

He would have none of it. He looked into the back of our van, when he spotted the locked metal trunk, which up to now had been covered by canvas and secured by the weight of my bodyguard. He pointed his gun towards me and ordered me to open the trunk. His eyes nearly popped out of their sockets when he saw the gold bullion.  “I will take you to HQ, they will deal with you over there”, he shouted, ordering us to board his vehicle, loading the metal trunk into it.  

The army truck drove through areas where I could see the carnage of burning fires that were raging, buildings burning, shops being looted. There were a couple of dead bodies by the roadside. Eventually we drove into the capital, which resembled a ghost city. No cars, no people to be seen. Normally a bustling metropolis, the strict 24-hour curfew was evidence that I had driven into what was for the moment, a battle ground.

At the army HQ, several top ranking officers came to see me and the seller in a small office. We were told that we weren’t under arrest, but that the Generals wanted to see us later that night, so they would keep us ‘safe’. It was early evening, and my thoughts drifted to the several officers waiting for me at the border, who would be worried for me by now. For sure, I thought, these armed forces chiefs will demand a King’s ransom to set me free, plus there was the issue of the 150 Kilograms of gold worth a fortune. Would they kill us, I thought? I don’t think so. My experience of similar situations was that money usually does the talking. This army hadn’t been paid for months, I thought, they’re bound to demand money. Except that in this case, I had gold, but no money. I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it, I thought.

The seller and I were given food and water in the small office. The food consisted of green soup with salted fish and boiled plantain. It tasted wonderful at the time. Anything half decent would have tasted good at that moment. Our driver and my bodyguard were being held elsewhere. Any deal, if indeed a deal was going to be possible under these curfew conditions, would require freedom for all of us, including the driver and my bodyguard. I would insist on that.

I have been in some tight corners in Africa, but I couldn’t have predicted the explosive nature of the meeting I was about to be called to at midnight. Neither was I aware that the country’s top armed forces leaders would all be present. They had accidentally stumbled upon huge prey, and they were going to decide how to tear it into pieces and devour it.

“Stand up, stand up!!” shouted the soldier guarding the small office room we were being held in. “The Generals are coming!” he screamed. It was approaching midnight. The curfew seemed to be non-existent. I could hear sporadic sounds of gunfire and explosions at several different distances. The din of noise grew louder, with human voices growing ever stronger. Clearly, there was civil unrest of the kind even this nation hadn’t experienced in recent times.

It was in the midst of this chaos that one of the Generals stormed into our room. “Come on, let’s go!” he screamed, with one of his guards aiming his gun at me. We were marched to a long oblong room, with a long mahogany table in the middle and enough chairs to seat 50 persons. The room had a musty odour of camphor about it. It looked dark and bohemian with a surreptitious feel about it.

I was pushed to the end of one side of the table and told to sit down in no uncertain terms. Two soldiers, fully armed, flanked me on either side. The seller, who was by now was totally petrified was given a chair adjacent to me. A few moments later, after I heard the sound of collective boots echoing loudly in the corridor leading to our room, the door flung open. A whole entourage of armed forces personnel marched in, some in green, brown and black fatigues. Some wore white uniforms adorned with medals. I knew these were no ordinary military personnel.

The news of our capture had reached the highest echelons of the armed forces. They had come to interrogate us collectively. One by one, they introduced themselves, talking in harsh forceful tones, stating their names and ranks. The General standing on the opposite end of the table to me, asked all his colleagues to be seated, but he remained standing. Behind the seated officers, a ring of at least twenty armed soldiers stood back clutching their firearms. The atmosphere was electric. The tension in the room was so high; you could have cut it with a knife. Clearly, this was going to be a do or die encounter.

“You, what is your name and your business. What are you doing in our country at this time? Haven’t you heard of our elections?” he roared. His boomed across the table, resonating with power that comes with a position commensurate to his rank.

“We just want to get to the border, General”. I replied. “We have no other agenda, no other intention. My supplier is with me, he has all the documents to enable me and my men to cross the border with the goods I have purchased from him”, adding to my previous answer in a measured manner. I knew that anything less on my part might run me into difficulty. Then, another General stood up, thumping his fist on the table, and shouting, “You are carrying over 100 kilograms of gold. How much money do you have, and where have you hidden it?” he screamed aggressively. Suddenly, random chatter broke out in the room with several people talking loudly and in an animated fashion simultaneously. I knew at that moment, we were in real trouble.

“General, we have no money other than expenses for the road. I was hoping we would reach the border, where my partners who have bought the gold are waiting to pay for it” I replied in a quiet and measured fashion. “We just want to reach the border as quickly as possible, so my seller can return back to his home village” I added.

“You are not going anywhere”, boomed the first General. “We want US$200,000 right now, or we will send you to rot in our prison cells” he shouted, waving his pistol at me. “You have to pay us before we allow you to proceed to the border. Anyway, there is fighting going on between government forces and those who are seeking to destabilise our country between here and the border” he said, raising his voice and repeatedly thumping his fist on the table. “All the roads have been sealed off, and there is no way a van full of gold, even with military escort can make it to the border. “ he explained in an ever increasing animated fashion.

“Sir, General, I have nothing of that sort on me, and I am not sure my partners at the border have anything like the figure you are talking about” I explained, looking around to gauge the reaction of his colleagues. By now my brain was racing with so many permutations, I knew for sure we were trapped. Suddenly, a thought came into my head. “Sir, I know I can convince my partners to pay the money, if somehow you can get us over the border and into the capital city of your neighbouring country?” I inquired tentatively.

Suddenly, three Generals jumped to their feet and screamed at me, one pulling his gun and pointing it at me, “Look, my friend, are you trying to be clever? We could shoot you and your friend right now, and cut you into small pieces and feed you to the fish in our harbour!!” his voice matching the ever increasing sound of gunfire we could hear outside.

Very soon, pandemonium broke out in the room, with both people shouting at each other, shaking fists, pointing fingers, speaking mainly in french but some in their native tongues. It seemed as if the question of our release in exchange for money had been like lighting touch paper that was threatening to send the room into an explosion.

“Quiet! Quiet, everyone!” shouted the chief commanding officer. The room descended into eventual silence. He turned to me and asked in a seemingly conciliatory tone, “What are you suggesting? How can you guarantee that we will receive the money we need?"

“General, Sir” I explained, “you need to give us maximum protection and escort us to the border. My foreign partner, the buyer of the goods is waiting at the border, having paid a huge deposit for these goods. He is keen to collect the goods and pay the balance. You are demanding $200,000 for my life, I think I can convince him that it’s a price worth paying, if he knows it will be the difference between receiving his goods or not”. I asked the General if I could make a phone call to my partner. He boomed back, “You can call him now, in front of all us! Right here and now!” I switched on my phone and after repeated attempts to call my partner in what was a poor phone network reception area, I managed to convey the gravity of my plight to him. However, my partner didn’t have the amount demanded, he had a quarter of it. How was I to explain this to the Generals? Should I tell it the way it was or try to railroad them into delivering the goods and us to the border? 

“So, what is he saying?” shouted the General. “Oh yes General, he has the funds, however you have to fly us, preferably in a helicopter so we can do this quickly” I answered, giving him a surprisingly confident response. I knew that if I showed even a minor sense of unease or hesitation in my body language, it would signal the end for us. After all, this was election time and there were random killings occurring all around us, as we saw with our own eyes whilst we were driving earlier that day.

The General spoke with the air force commander, who quickly jumped to his feet in agreement. “How will we do this?” asked the General. “You drop us and the goods at a small army airfield over the border, and my people will be waiting there. You can exchange the goods and us for the money when the helicopter lands” I answered in an assured manner. “Okay, everyone, straight to the helicopter hangar!” he shouted.

My phone was still on. In the confusion that had followed my phone call, I had forgotten to switch it off. I had been ordered to switch it off when we were intercepted. In the mayhem that followed when we were marched out of the room and were being led to a jeep that was to drive us to the helicopter hangar, I started sending a text to my partner. I told him to be ready with two of the army officers who were my close friends in the neighbouring country, plus a couple of their best army marksmen. I received a quick fire response by text affirming that they would be ready to receive me over the border.

The General ordered two of his most trusted officers to escort us in a heavily armed armoured vehicle to the aircraft hangar. All around us, the night was filled with continuous sound of heavy gunfire, interspersed with shouting and screaming of people fleeing. After a short drive in pitch darkness, we arrived at the aircraft hangar. It was dimly lit, and in front of three fighter jets, were two military helicopters, that quite frankly had seen better days. They seemed to be the last remnants of the Cold War, as I was told they were from the former Soviet Union and bore the scars of many a battle with the fabled Afghani ‘mujahedeen’ freedom fighters in the occupation years of Afghanistan.

One of the officers accompanying us called the pilot and three other soldiers who were standing beside the helicopter. He commanded them to lift our cargo into the awaiting helicopter. The gold bullion was carried from the vehicle and loaded into the helicopter by four armed soldiers. The seller and I were ordered to jump into the helicopter, whilst the roof above was being pulled apart by two chained pulleys that were being drawn apart by a total of eight soldiers, four on each side. The helicopter would take off vertically through the opening in the roof. The sound of gunfire got louder and seemed to be drawing nearer. “Quick, start the motor and arm the tracer machine guns!” shouted one of the officers. There were two heavy machine guns at either side of the helicopter, and a set of six machine guns fixed on the helicopter. This was an old style Soviet gunship that had been the scourge of Afghanistan through the Soviet occupation in the 1980’s.

The helicopter had kick started. Its blades beginning to rotate making a high pitched whining noise. We were told to strap on our safety belts, when the helicopter started shaking violently under the gyrating spinning action of its rotary blades. For a moment I thought it was going to fall apart. Shortly after, the noise became unbearable, and we took off vertically. I was convinced we going to crash as a result of metal fatigue at any minute. No sooner had we taken off, I started hearing the clangs and echoes of bullets whistling past the helicopter. There were rebels below us on the ground, and they seemed to fancy their chances of downing a government helicopter. The helicopter gun ship returned a barrage of heavy fire to a target on the ground, blowing up dozens of homes from where the gunfire was coming. The helicopter moved forward and started flying, with all four of the armed soldiers inside, busy returning machine gun fire back to targets below us.

After 15 minutes that seemed to last an eternity, we somehow managed to fly through the gunfire and over the border. The pilot flew very close to the ground in order to avoid air traffic clearance and detection by any military radar. I noticed the lights of our destination aerodrome from where I was sitting. We managed to land slowly, with the helicopter shaking to the extent it seemed it was just going to disintegrate. I saw my partner and the two officers I had requested. Adjacent to them, I saw the marksmen’s lights that gave me a renewed sense of hope about our mission. The helicopter landed, as if it was glad to have escaped the chaos behind us.

The officer accompanying me jumped out. “Where is your partner?” he yelled at me. I pointed out my partner, who was standing clutching his small rucksack. “Where’s the money? Where is it, bring it now” he shouted. I asked him to unload the goods into a waiting military vehicle. “No, the money first” he screamed. I told him we would do a simultaneous exchange. “Place the goods in the vehicle, and I will give you the money” I said, standing firm. He ordered his two soldiers to lift the goods out of the helicopter and place them into the armoured vehicle that was parked adjacent to the helicopter waiting to drive us off. I waved at my partner asking him for the rucksack. The officer looked at me, waving at me to give him the bag so he could count the money. At this point, I looked behind me and noticed the two marksmen I had asked for creeping up behind me.

As the officer was counting the money, his soldiers had returned back to the helicopter waiting for him to jump back on so that they could return back to their side of the border. The helicopter had already restarted its engines and its rotary blades swishing the night air like medieval flashing swords. Whilst he was counting the money, I shouted to one of my marksmen, “Take him, put your gun to his head!” In a split second our marksmen had overpowered the officer. In the ensuing confusion, I grabbed the rucksack, shoving the money from the officer’s hands whilst an AK 47 rifle was propped against his temple. “You, up there. One false move and he is dead,” I shouted at the soldiers in the helicopter. The other marksman ran up to the helicopter and demanded all the soldiers to drop their weapons at once. We ran round, my partner, the officers accompanying him and the seller, each of us collecting the dropped weapons and threw them into the armoured vehicle. “Lets go, now, now”, I screamed. The army officers with us fired a few rounds of ammunition in the air as a warning to the helicopter soldiers. We all ran into our armoured vehicle, our marksmen aiming at the helicopter and the officer who I had dispossessed of the money. We rapidly scrambled our getaway into the night. “Go, go, go!” I shouted at our driver, whilst our party screamed with laughter and disbelief racing out of the jungle on to the tarmac road. What happened to the helicopter and its armed personnel who had brought us there remains a mystery to me to this day.”

Whilst the majority of gold and diamonds that end up on the retail market are mined and supplied by international mining companies, a significant proportion of the precious minerals are sourced by brokerages like ours. The products we source are mined by small independent mining concerns. The journeys undertaken to get the product from the mine to the retailer can be hazardous at the best of times.

I would like to share such a journey with you, that I undertook from Freetown, the capital of Sierra Leone to Kono province, the principal mining area of Sierra Leone in 2007. My team and I travelled to the outer reaches of the province to a small village on the Liberian border called Toli. There were four of us travelling in a truck that could seat six including the driver in a basic cabin devoid of air conditioning deep into the rainy season. Normally, I have a good idea of the supplier we are scheduled to meet, but on this occasion I didn’t have a clue. All I knew was that he was a former Warlord who had turned his attention to legitimate diamond mining and was a good friend of my personal armed body guard, who himself is a former soldier from the Sierra Leone army.

It took us three days to get to Toli, crossing first the River Jong and later attempting a crossing over River Sewa that was bursting its banks due to heavy continuous rainfall that lasted days as opposed to hours. When we reached River Sewa, its main bridge was closed, considered unsafe for crossing due to heavy rain that had weakened the bridge. After hours of waiting and pondering over a possible solution, my driver suggested an alternative bridge that was smaller but run by a private operator. We drove for some 45 minutes and reached the bridge, braving flooding and mudslides on the road. After paying the operator, we finally crossed the River Sewa and made our way on one of the many small muddy roads to Toli.

We finally arrived at Toli at dusk after three days on the road. There were no guesthouses at Toli so our host, who greeted us warmly offered to feed and give us shelter for the night. Normally, I am a stickler for maintaining my independence, in case such a situation compromises any potential relationship between buyer and seller. Our host lived in a heavily guarded mansion that we reached driving past thick green vegetation and plantain plantations. It was perched on top of a substantial hill, giving him and his guards a high vantage point.

My host was a towering man, well over six feet three inches in height and weighing possibly over 250 pounds. "You are most welcome, my brother” he exclaimed, giving me a bear hug greeting, with customary Islamic and local Sierra Leone hospitality. We met the following morning in his private lounge. The room was guarded by three of his most trusted guards who were armed to the hilt. Two of them brandished AK-47 Rifles and one had the notorious Uzi machine gun, capable of delivering a non stop volley of up to 500 rounds a minute.

My host pulled out 5000 Carats of some of the largest diamonds that I have ever seen. The deal was that I would select, test and seal the number of diamonds that I wanted. We would agree a price, after which the agreement was that he would transport the goods to a mutual bank in the capital Freetown, where I would test the stones again and settle the agreed price.

We concluded the deal by midday and after being treated to a feast fit for kings, our host sent an armed escort of two vehicles, one in front us and one behind. My personal aide, Musa who was a former child soldier didn’t like the idea. He said, in daylight this would give a false impression of a foreigner leaving the ‘fortress’ of the richest man in the area, probably carrying a consignment of diamonds (which was not the case). In retrospect, nothing could have confirmed his suspicions more than the events that we endured as we reached River Sewa. By now it was dusk, and though the rain had subsided and the sky had been overcast, the road was by and large clear. Our escorts ensured we crossed the river safely, and started their journey back to Toli.

What we experienced from there on is not typical of Sierra Leone today, as it has made huge strides in ensuring security around the country. However, it must be understood that the country still has a lot of firearms in circulation (a legacy of the civil war) and that it is sometimes difficult to differentiate between legitimate armed bodyguards and armed bandits. We were three miles short of our destination, a small guesthouse, when our truck suffered tyre punctures caused by a booby trap on the road. My body guard suddenly shouted, “Every one down, its armed robbers, they think we are carrying diamonds!”

I heard the sound of gunfire behind us, but none of us could see anything anywhere. We quickly stopped and ran out into the nearby bush. My bodyguard stuck close to me, his firearm at the ready to repel any attack on me. The ground was waterlogged, and nightfall brought mosquitoes. Somehow, the armed bandits searched our vehicle, finding only travel bags, which they stole and then drove off. We could see their lights as they shouted and ransacked our vehicle. I normally carry a small rucksack on these missions that contains all personal and important valuables like testing equipment, money, passport, phones etc.

We survived the night with difficulty, having survived a close call to life itself. The next morning, I used my satellite phone (as normal gsm coverage is nil) to call my partner in Freetown, who alerted a nearby United Nations peacekeeping force. The UN boys rescued us and I spent 3 days at a local hospital having been bitten and ravaged by mosquitoes and other bush insects. We were lucky to come away alive and the risk to life, but the resultant malaria and other illnesses continue to hound me to this day”…..(to be continued.)

posted on the 19th of May 2010

The two sides of gold mining have had an uneasy existence for as long as memory allows. The advent of poverty in mining areas caused by a lack of coordinated reinvestment of resources from gold mining revenues has driven almost 3,000 local residents to practice galamsey mining. It is a clandestine form of mining (usually practiced in the dead of night) that is not only illegal in the sense that operators work without licences, but the process is dangerous as a toxic form of mercury is used to extract gold from the soil. The danger posed by handling toxic mercury has caused untold injury to the operators who practice galamsey.

This process has for decades posed and escalated environmental concerns due to the trail of pollution that is left in some scenic areas of natural beauty in Ghana. Also, the practice takes the form of encroachment by the local artisans on to legitimate mining areas, a form “poaching” of resources from licensed and demarcated mining areas.

The situation has put Ghana into a real predicament. I have seen foreign investors, and the ones I have personally witnessed have come from China funding galamsey artisans to tear down swathes of natural vegetation containing rare tree types. For the artisans this looks like a solution sent from above, but for their future and the future of generations of Ghanaians to come this practice of typically making a “a quick buck” has environmental and human rights implications. I have seen toxic chemicals injure and maim artisans who handle chemicals during the process. In most cases the paymasters sponsoring this process don’t give a damn about the harm they are inflicting on Ghana and the people of Ghana.

I believe Professor Mills’ government has a real opportunity to step in and regularise this process by issuing some form of local licensing schemes that allow legitimate cooperatives of galamsey to be formed. Cooperatives work successfully in large farming areas of Ghana, why not in the case of small-scale mining? Ghanaians are optimistic and resourceful as a people and I am certain that a controlled allocation of mining areas for local residents (not their ‘quick buck’ sponsors) would have far reaching consequences for local communities and the environment. Also, suspicions of child labour and human rights abuses would subside with encouragement given to local communities to look after their own environment. After all, the future of coming Ghanaian generations depends on the protection of Ghana’s beautiful environment.

I feel radical thinking is required to operate a two tier system. There is already in place a very liberal government policy that encourages bon fide mining companies, foreign or otherwise to invest and set up operations in Ghana. It is at the grass roots level where the galamsey operate that needs another system. This needs to be within the reach of aspiring local nationals who do not have the financial clout of the multinational companies. They are dogged by daily strife, and a publically encouraged system would ensure greater prosperity for local Ghanaians and it would keep out the foreign opportunist sharks who only chase a bang for their buck and could not give a toss about the world we live in or the plight of the people that they prey on. Remember what happened at Port Harcourt and oil rich delta region of Nigeria? Ghana cannot afford such repetition in its gold rich mining areas.”

The UK General Election and the Euro Zone Crisis

posted on the 7th of May 2010 at 0735 GMT

"The United Kingdom wakes up on the 7^th of May 2010 to witness the verdict of the people on a possible new government. A General Election in one of the world’s beacons of democracy always focuses international attention.

It appears that the UK will have a “hung Parliament” in which either a minority government or a coalition will govern the country. All this confusion in a week of great uncertainty in the Euro Zone caused by the financial crisis in Greece has hit the equity markets in US, Far East and this morning, in the UK.

A UK government without a clear mandate and a majority large enough to pass decisive laws can send the wrong signals to the financial markets. In the past five decades only two UK leaders carried the sort of clear majorities that allowed them to govern with the sort of decisive policies that financial markets like to see.  The UK still carries a great deal of clout as a major international financial centre. Decisions made by the City can have far reaching reverberations amongst international financial markets and to his effect the UK has an influential role to play.

The equity markets have plummeted more than at the height of the global financial crisis of 2008 which was ignited initially by the US “sub prime” property lending collapse. All the indications this morning point to another titanic wave of financial uncertainty that is set to affect all the international markets.

What then are the implications on precious minerals markets such as gold and diamonds? The Far East bullion markets that start the day earlier than the rest of the world have already started the upward swing in gold prices. Pricing of diamonds is far more subjective but human instincts being what they are, I would be surprised if specialist commodity brokers haven’t been ordered by investors to make acquisitions of diamonds.

Although this current financial turmoil amongst the markets is not driven by a war or conflict, but based on that intangible entity, human confidence. Needless to say it will be interesting to see whether the current financial uncertainty will lead to a concerted surge in precious minerals prices. What is absolutely evident is that whenever the financial markets wobble, the price of gold and the demand for diamonds usually sees an upward trend."

Naomi Campbell and "that" diamond....

posted on the 25th of April 2010

But not so from the way I saw the interview. Naomi got flustered and angry when quite against the run of play the interviewer suddenly dropped a question at her with the aplomb of a lead balloon. The question related to Naomi’s alleged ownership of a so called “conflict diamond” that was allegedly given to her by the now disgraced despotic former leader of Liberia, Charles Taylor. UN lawyers at the war crimes court in The Hague who are actively prosecuting the case against Charles Taylor on charges of war crimes he committed as he tried to fuel the civil war in Sierra Leone, his diamond rich neighbour have alleged that Naomi has refused to testify against Taylor.

These events smack of more than a touch of hypocrisy and attempts to vilify Naomi seem way wide of the mark. Let’s recall the events that have been reported and recalled by actress Mia Farrow in her testimony to the war crimes court. She says that she and Naomi were guests of Nelson Mandela in 1997 at the same time as Taylor’s visit to South Africa. Mia Farrow told prosecutors that Naomi recalled how Taylor sent two of his henchmen in the dead of night to deliver a large rough diamond as a present for Naomi.

What beggars belief is the war crimes court’s insistence on Naomi’s testimony in its bid to indict Charles Taylor. After hundreds of interviews and statements from former child soldiers, old allies, former fighters all unequivocally confirming Taylor’s role as a true warlord in the civil war, the UN is clearly verging on pettiness in pursuing Naomi’s testimony. Surely there is more than sufficient evidence to indict Taylor?

The incident also highlights the problems in tracing the definitions of the term “conflict diamond”. In 1997, it could not have been evident to Nelson Mandela, whom the world universally regards as a latter day saint that Taylor was a despotic warlord. Mandela would have shunned Taylor unequivocally had he known how history was about to unfold. Today, our industry has a robust origin audit system put into place by the UN in 2002 known as the Kimberley process that screens and ratifies the origins of every diamond that seeks to find its way on to the open market.

In 1997, nothing was known about the bartering of rough diamonds for sophisticated arms that coined the phrase “blood diamond” or “conflict diamond”. How can a diamond innocently accepted half a decade before the Kimberley process be tantamount to Naomi supporting “conflict diamonds”? Whilst the Kimberley process has done much to alleviate the hideous tag, no law can be applied retrospectively and trying to vilify Naomi in 2010 is clearly ridiculous. Giving lavish presents by despotic leaders in Africa at the expense of their own countries by their male leaders has been seen as some testestrone fuelled gesture of their own power. Its nothing new, and who knows how many “conflict diamonds” still covet the showrooms of some of the most lustrous diamond designer houses of Paris, Monte Carlo, Hong Kong to name but a few? These questions will never be totally satisfactorily answered just as quizzing Naomi on accepting a diamond from Charles Taylor back in 1997 is unfair.

Clearly, in 1997 at a time when the Sierra Leone civil war was in its infancy, Naomi couldn’t have known who and what Charles Taylor was and  what his significance would be in the context of that war in the year 2010. Hindsight is always 20:20. Neither can any historian prove conclusively that all the diamonds mined in the early 20^th century in poor and shoddy mining conditions in Africa and Asia were any different as their production also extracted a grim human price from those who worked in those mines. Today, the Kimberley process has done much to bring the diamond industry to ethical levels, but pursuing Naomi Campbell retrospectively is not the answer to either indicting Charles Taylor or cleaning up the diamond industry."

Crisis in Dubai

posted on the 23rd of April 2010

Dubai and its middle eastern neighbours remain some of the truly few genuine "free" markets when it comes to readily available gold and diamonds to the millions of visitors who either travel to the middle east for business or tourism as well as those who transit through this key hub. Thankfully, a more serious recession in Dubai was warded off by the timely intervention of his Excellency Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nayhan the Ruler of Abu Dhabi and President of the UAE. A lasting testament to Sheikh Khalifa is that the tallest building in the world, the ever rising Burj Towers was renamed Burj Khalifa by the rulers of Dubai in a gesture that showed their gratitude to the UAE President as well as a reflection genuine closing of ranks amongst the UAE leaders.

The net effect on gold and diamond markets since January 2010 is that as in the case of many crises' where global markets have been rocked, a sudden surge in the demand of gold has sent the bullion market price soaring. There seems no economic factor currently checking the growth in value of the precious metal. Diamonds suffered somewhat when demand of 'bulk' diamonds dropped as consumer demand for manufactured jewelry checked a touch whilst consumers took stock of the money in their pockets. The opposite can be said of high quality diamonds where not only has demand been soaring, but the net value of 'collectors' stones has risen steadily in 2010. It is patently true that as in the case of past global crises', the current global recession which is diminishing steadily but very slowly, diamonds and gold are seen as a safe haven at a time of loss of confidence in cash."