Diamond exports from Tanzania have recorded some stellar figures – sevenfold more than in 2021.
The year-on-year spike pushed output from a principal mine in the north of the country to a per-annum value of $63.1 million for 2022, up from $8.4m a year before.
The results bode well for Williamson Mines, owner of the open-pit mine in Mwadui Lohumbo, after operations were suspended last November following a breach at its by-product storage facility.
Flooding of the tailings dam reportedly affected about 115 people living in the nearby village of Nga’wanholo.
Despite the mine’s increased output, Petra Diamonds, the parent company of Williamson Mines, has said that operations at the mine will only commence again in 2024.
The mine in the Kishapu district of Tanzania is regarded as having one of the world’s best kimberlite pipes, being 146 hectares in size.
