By Web Admin 
FREETOWN, Sierra Leone, May 25, 2026
As global markets reshape the value of minerals, Sierra Leone’s small-scale miners and policy makers face a pivotal choice: build the institutional scaffolding to attract responsible investment, or watch key sectors hollow out. That was the blunt assessment offered by Mohamed Bah, director of Precious Minerals Trading at the National Minerals Agency, during a closing exchange at a panel on Supply Chain Transparency and Responsible Sourcing Panel held at Sierra Leone Mining Week 2026.
Bah presented stark data to illustrate the shift underway. Artisanal mining licenses issued for diamonds have fallen sharply — from more than 1,200 licences in 2023, to 889 in 2024, and only 679 in 2025. Diamond export revenues collapsed even more dramatically: what approached $102 million in 2023 plunged to roughly $21 million in 2025. Those numbers, he said, reflect a global market hit for diamonds and structural problems within the large-scale diamond sector.
By contrast, gold is on the rise. Artisanal gold licences rose from 217 in 2023 to 319 in 2025, and exports grew: around 250 kilograms of gold were exported in 2025, generating nearly $900,000 in revenue. Bah noted that in the first two quarters of 2026 the country already shipped 207 kilograms, with a single large-scale operator accounting for roughly 63 percent of that early-year volume; artisanal miners contributed about 37 percent. Those figures convinced him that improvements in legislation and compliance work by the ministry and National Minerals Agency are beginning to yield results — particularly in gold.
But the gains mask vulnerabilities. “Diamond is being crippled,” Bah said, pointing to synthetic diamonds and problems in the industrial sector. Gold’s growth, he argued, invites its own risks: fraud, unregulated buyers, and smuggling in the absence of robust standards. Unlike diamonds — governed by the Kimberley Process and bolstered locally by a functioning Gem Fair — Sierra Leone lacks equivalent structures for gold. That regulatory gap, he warned, creates space for “scammers” and irregular flows.
Bah told the panel that the single most powerful lever government could pull this year is clear: commission thorough feasibility studies — both to quantify losses from illicit trade and to map the financial landscape of artisanal and small‑scale mining (ASM). Such studies, he said, would provide an evidence base for targeted policy, expose the scale of smuggling, and reveal where public or private investment should be concentrated.
“Where’s the data?” Bah asked rhetorically. “Once you do that, that will help to ensure we understand exactly what is going on.” He urged the government to prioritize financial assessments of the ASM gold sector and to actively seek investment partners. Without a reliable fiscal and operational picture, he argued, state policy will drift and private capital will remain wary.
Beyond research, Bah recommended an institutional solution: establish a dedicated state-owned entity to coordinate responsible sourcing and investment in the ASM sector. Such an agency, he suggested, could pool technical assistance, manage partnerships, and address long-standing financing gaps that currently leave artisanal miners exposed to predatory buyers and illegal traders.
Panelists from overseas, Bah noted, had focused on standards and external best practices. Yet the response he advocated is homegrown and pragmatic: marry strong data, targeted feasibility work, and a government-backed vehicle to attract and steward investment. For diamonds, he said, existing international standards remain relevant but are insufficient without domestic reforms; for gold, Sierra Leone must build its own framework.
The policy prescription is straightforward but urgent. If diamonds continue to lose market share and gold expands without oversight, Sierra Leone risks trading short-term gains for long-term revenue leakage. Feasibility studies, tighter financial oversight, and a state-led coordinating body would give the government leverage to negotiate responsible investment and to ensure that sourcing reforms translate into real benefits for communities and the national treasury.
As the panel wrapped, the message to Freetown’s policy makers was clear: structural fixes — not rhetoric — will determine whether Sierra Leone’s mineral wealth becomes a driver of inclusive growth or a vector for illicit flows and lost value.