Rapaport Group Commences Diamond Trade Mission in Sierra Leone

The Rapaport Group has commenced its latest trade mission to Sierra Leone, one of the world’s major diamond producers. The delegation, led by Chairman Martin Rapaport, comprises diamond dealers and jewelers from various countries including the US, the UK, Italy, India, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and Singapore.

The trade mission aims to provide an opportunity to meet artisanal diggers and learn about the severe challenges they experience. It will also highlight opportunities for sustainable economic development that can transform millions of lives.

The itinerary for Rapaport’s five-day Sierra Leone trade mission includes touring an active diamond mine in Koidu and talking with diggers, visiting Koryardu, the Peace Diamond village to see how proceeds from the 2017 sale of the 709-carat Peace Diamond have been used to develop local education, health and welfare infrastructure in one of the world’s poorest towns, a town hall meeting with local Koryardu officials and residents to evaluate the project’s progress and learn how to expand its impact, and visiting De Beers’ GemFair artisanal diggers program, the National Museum, the Sierra Leone Business Development Conference, the Empower Africa Business Center, and an abandoned diamond-mining pit that’s being reclaimed for agriculture

The Rapaport Group is an international network of companies that provide added-value services supporting ethical, transparent, competitive, and efficient diamond and jewelry markets. Established in 1976, they are a value-based organization that believes business is about creating a better world – not just making money ². Martin Rapaport is chairman of the Rapaport Group and founder of the Rapaport Diamond Report and the RapNet online diamond trading network. He has been called a “maverick” within the diamond industry for standardizing and publishing diamond prices. He has also been criticized for non-transparency in his methodology as well as his silence over a corruption scandal involving GIA with which he has strong ties ². Each year Rapaport hosts an International Diamond Conference which tackles various topics in the diamond trade world ²

Image: The 2019 Rapaport trade mission to Sierra Leone. (Rapaport News)

Rapaport Group Diamond Trade Mission Sierra Leone