Ghana diamond production rises
Tuesday, September 21st, 2010
Ghana has posted a year-on-year increase in diamond production for the first half of 2010, with revenue generated from the stones also rising.
Diamond production in Ghana climbed during the opening half of this year, new official statistics have revealed.
Data from the country's Chamber of Mines showed output of the precious stones was up 14 per cent year-on-year in the six-month period, Bloomberg reports.
The increase resulted in a substantial rise in revenue generated from diamond production, jumping 15 per cent to $6.85 million (£4.4 million) when compared to the same period in 2009.
In total, 201,792 carats of the precious stones were mined in the first half of this year.
The rate of production across the period was consistent, with 99,008 carats of diamonds retrieved from mines in the three months to June 30th.
Ghana is one of a number of countries that have recently released diamond statistics.
Exports of the polished and rough gems from Israel rose from to $5.9 billion between January and August 2010, up from $3.3 billion a year ago.
