Sierra Leone’s diamond industry has evolved considerably in recent decades, with increased formalisation, transparency and responsible sourcing practices supporting the industry’s development. Today, eligible diamonds sourced through GemFair form part of ORIGIN De Beers Group.
Recording a diamond’s provenance is an important part of responsible sourcing. It helps create a documented record of a diamond’s journey, from the mining community where it was recovered through the supply chain and ultimately to the person who wears it.
Through ORIGIN De Beers Group eligible diamonds sourced from Sierra Leone can be linked to sourcing information recorded through GemFair, connecting the diamond to its origin and the artisanal communities where it was recovered.
Sierra Leone’s Artisanal Diamond Industry Today
Sierra Leone’s diamond industry includes a significant Artisanal and Small-Scale Mining industry, supported by national regulation and international frameworks such as the Kimberley Process, which help govern the movement of rough diamonds to international markets1.
Artisanal and Small-Scale Mining describes diamond recovery carried out by individuals and small groups using relatively simple methods and equipment, rather than the machinery and infrastructure associated with large-scale industrial mining. In Sierra Leone, this work is often rooted in family networks and local communities and continues to play an important role in the country’s diamond sector.
Because diamond recovery takes place across many small-scale, independent mining sites, maintaining accurate records as diamonds move through the supply chain can be complex. Recording a diamond’s journey helps strengthen transparency and provides greater visibility into its origin.
Why Traceability Matters for Responsible Diamond Sourcing
Traceability is fundamental to responsible sourcing because it helps verify where a diamond originated and how it moves through the supply chain. Without traceability, it is difficult to identify, assess and manage risks such as child labour, human rights abuses, conflict financing, and other harmful practices.
GemFair uses a bespoke digital traceability platform, the GemFair App, to help provide greater transparency and evidence that participating miners meet GemFair’s responsible sourcing requirements and assurance standards. Enhanced traceability also supports due diligence by enabling risks to be identified, monitored, and addressed throughout the supply chain in line with OECD expectations. By linking each diamond to a known source, GemFair helps responsible miners benefit from access to formal markets and receive fair value for their production.
Ultimately, traceability underpins trust, accountability, and confidence in the diamond supply chain, making it the foundation on which responsible sourcing is built. Once sourced through GemFair’s best-practice diamond sourcing programme, eligible diamonds can enter the market via ORIGIN De Beers Group, enabling consumers to access information about their diamond’s journey, as recorded on the platform, from origin through the supply chain.
How Sierra Leone Diamond Regulation and GemFair Support Traceability
A diamond recovered by an artisanal miner in Sierra Leone passes through several stages before reaching international markets. National regulation, including participation in the Kimberley Process, provides a framework for the export of rough diamonds, while initiatives such as GemFair support efforts to strengthen transparency and traceability within the artisanal diamond sector.
GemFair, a program established by De Beers Group in 2018 in the Kono region of Sierra Leone, supports the government’s efforts to formalise the artisanal sector. Rather than operating mines, GemFair purchases diamonds directly from participating artisanal miners, offering training, fair valuation, ongoing monitoring against program standards, and a route into international markets through its own digital system2.
Information about the diamond is recorded through GemFair’s diamond logging application, alongside a valuation toolkit, tamper-proof QR-coded bags and surface-scanning technology that creates a digital fingerprint of the diamond. Eligible diamonds are then uploaded to Tracr™, a blockchain-based platform where the traceability information associated with the diamond can continue to be recorded by participants on the platform, as it moves through the supply chain3.
Together, these regulatory and traceability measures help create a documented record of a diamond’s sourcing journey, connecting it to its recorded origin and enabling greater visibility as traceability information is recorded through the supply chain.
How Traceable Diamonds Support Sierra Leone Diamond Communities
Traceability is not only about consumer confidence. For artisanal miners, it provides a legitimate, documented route into formal markets that may otherwise be difficult to access.
Through GemFair, participating miners gain access to fair value for their diamonds, along with training that helps them better understand and negotiate the value of the diamonds they recover.
Because ORIGIN De Beers Group enables the recording of the sourcing journey of eligible Sierra Leone diamonds, that connection does not end at the mine site. The person who eventually wears the diamond remains connected to the community that recovered it, keeping that contribution visible. It is part of the movement toward helping highlight the story that sits behind the diamonds.
What to look for when buying Sierra Leone diamonds
For anyone considering a diamond from Sierra Leone, a few questions can help provide greater transparency about its source. Where was the diamond recovered, and by whom? Is it backed by Kimberley Process certification? Is it part of a program, such as GemFair, that records sourcing information from the point of purchase? And can that recorded journey be traced through the supply chain to the finished diamond?
This is part of what ORIGIN De Beers Group provides for diamonds sourced from Sierra Leone: eligible GemFair diamonds are recorded on Tracr™, connecting them back to their origin.
Recorded Details: Sierra Leone’s Place in ORIGIN
GemFair’s work with artisanal miners, the country’s participation in the Kimberley Process, and the recorded journey that ORIGIN De Beers Group provides each play a distinct part in how a Sierra Leone diamond reaches market today. Together, this helps provide a link back to where a diamond was recovered and the people involved in its recovery.
For the person who eventually wears an ORIGIN De Beers Group diamond sourced from Sierra Leone, that recorded journey forms part of the diamond’s story, connecting it to the artisanal mining communities where its journey began.
