(pradd) – liberia - Land Tenure and Property Rights Portal

4.0 INCREASINGREGISTRATION OFARTISANAL DIAMONDPRODUCTIONThe Kimberley Process Certification Scheme (KPCS) formalizes the international trade in rough diamonds tovalidate its origin through a legitimate chain of custody. It requires member states to implement transparentand auditable mechanisms to record and monitor diamond production, consisting of five components: 1)Registration of production; 2) Certification that diamonds are traceable to legitimate production; 3)Valuation; 4) Data-keeping; and 5) Monitoring. The Liberian legislative regime requires all actors in thediamond value chain to register with the central government, conduct transactions only with each other, andrecord the essential information for each diamond transaction.There are two categories of diamond mining licenses relevant to this analysis: Class C Artisanal DiamondMining Licenses (ADM) and Class B Small-scale Diamond Mining Licenses (SDM).Figure 1: Class B and C Artisanal and Small-scale Diamond Mining Licenses in LiberiaLicense Type Eligibility Description Claim Size Cost per license DurationClass CADM licenseOnlyLiberiansAlluvial Deposits;Non-mechanizedtoolsup to 25 acres US $150 1 yearClass B SDMlicenseLiberians &legalresidentsPrimary Deposits(Kimberlite);Small-scaleindustrial100 acres US $10,000 5 yearsThe first entry point into the legitimate chain of custody is the miner’s registration of production at theRegional Diamond Office (RDO). In order to register production at the RDO, ASDMs need to be inpossession of a valid Class C ADM license or a Class B SDM license, although the MLME has beenencouraging unregistered ASDMs to register their production and obtain licenses thereafter. The RDO issuesa receipt and duplicate voucher, which captures the essential information to validate the origin of thediamond(s) and details of the transaction. A copy of the voucher accompanies the diamond(s) during the saleto a broker and subsequently to a dealer. Dealers are also the exporters, who need vouchers for officialvaluation and certification at the Government Diamond Office (GDO).Despite the fact that ASM provides livelihoods for almost 30 percent of the rural population, it does notfeature prominently in the Mineral Policy of Liberia (2010), or in the Poverty Reduction Strategy or othermajor development programs. The insignificance ascribed to it might be due to a history of illegality and“under-performance”: before 1990, the minerals sector contributed 65 percent of export earnings and 25percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Currently, it generates just sufficient government revenue toPRADD LIBERIA: A REVIEW OF THE LEGAL, REGULATORY AND POLICY FRAMEWORKGOVERNING ARTISANAL DIAMOND MINING IN LIBERIA 11