Sierra Leone Diamond Costs $6 Million, But Are The Human Lives Lost Worth It?

A Sierra Leone diamond is said to be worth $6 million, but the recent violence at the mines highlights the cost of the so-called blood diamonds.

In a related report by The Inquisitr, one thief attempted to sneak an expensive pink diamond out of Australia by swallowing it whole! The worst part is that police caught him but couldn’t find the diamond…

The National Minerals Agency says the Sierra Leone diamond is actually one of the biggest find ever at the mine:

“This 153.44-carat diamond is one of the finest diamonds to be found in Sierra Leone in the last 10 years. The diamond is a cleavage in terms of shape and the clarity is of very high quality. In other words, this is a premium stone as a result of its color and clarity, and had it been an octahedron-shaped stone, it could have almost doubled the price of $6 million.”

While it’s very big it still doesn’t compare to the 968.9-carat Star of Sierra Leone, which is the largest alluvial diamond ever found. The report also says it has the best coloration result of D on the scale, meaning it has no impurities that alter the color or give it a yellowish tint. They say the Sierra Leone diamond “could only be matched or surpassed by fancy diamonds such as blue or pink in terms of price.”

But news of this new Sierra Leone diamond happened to coincide with reports of crowd control police shooting protesters dead while they fought for worker’s rights at the mine. One woman named Musu Conteh describes how she was singing and dancing with 50 other women when the gunfire started:

“[She] was right in front of me. The police led an ambush close to the police station using tear gas on us. We all fell, and the woman in front of me bent down to gather leaves to cover her eyes and nose. As she was bending to pick up the leaves, she was shot. As she got up, she was shot again in her heart and back. Her last words were ‘Oh me, I’m dying for my rights.'”

What do you think about the Sierra Leone diamond now that you’ve heard of the human cost?