The GIA has an excellent piece about diamond mining in Lesotho, by Gem Diamonds at the Letseng mine, source of the Lesotho Promise.

Touring the mine, located about 3,100 meters (just over 10,000 feet) high in rugged mountain country, Maharasoa notes, “This mine came from nothing in 2000. Now we have 1,500 employees (and) a mine that gives our country 70% of its corporate tax revenue and 60% of our country’s foreign exchange earnings.”
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“Letseng has a long life ahead,” Maharasoa says. “We have established a goal that Lesotho’s diamonds, now supplying about 7.5% of our country’s GDP, can achieve 15% within a few years.”

The tiny land-locked country produces some of the world’s highest-quality diamonds, with an average value per carat of $584.88 (2013) and a long history of incredible finds.

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