| 32. The Lêtsêng Diamond Mine |
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My introduction to the Lêtsêng Diamond Mine was started before I even got there. On the morning of my last day of walking up the Khubelu Valley towards the diamond mine, I was woken by tremendous roar. I thought it was surely thunder, but when I crawled out of my sleeping bag and went to see what I thought would be a dark dangerous sky. Instead it was a stunning day, with nothing but the blue sky and bronzed morning-mountains. I knew then that it must have been a blast at the mines, penetrating the quiet valleys which were still so far away. It increased my curiosity as to what was happening up there. Two thirds of that day was a growling uphill slog. About halfway up the last descent on a dirt road, an unusually fancy 4 wheel drive pulled next to me. Little did I know that this encounter would be the root of me being living it up for the next couple of night.  A couple of my friends at the Lêtsêng Diamond mine A man called Dess, rolled down the window and was straight into asking me I was doing walking in the middle of nowhere with a horse. Of course, I gave him the Treading the Forgotten Sky speel. Before I knew it he was organizing accommodation for the night for me at the Lêtsêng Diamond Mine, where he worked. Straight in just like that! For the next two nights Larlie enjoyed the comfort of a stable and a full feed trough, while I was accommodated in my own little apartment and given free food tickets for the buffet-style workers eating hall. Wow!! That first night I was so zombied by the tv, which was a welcome break from it all, that I went to bed at 2am!! My day off consisted of eating (lots), watching a movie and getting a tour of the mine. The day off was a great break from the toils of the track. What I learnt about the mine: The Letseng Diamond Mine has one of the lowest production of diamonds per tonage of rock of any diamond mine in the world. However, purely because of the high quality of the diamonds that are found, the diamond mine is extremely successful. The Letseng Diamond Mine has produced 7 of the top twenty best diamonds ever found in the world! Located on a plataue at about 3000m above sea level, it's the highest diamond mine in the world, and overlooks a sea of mountains.  Panorama of the Lêtsêng Diamond Mine (click image to enlarge) The mine was built fairly resently and is owned and run by a South African company. It was previously owned by the Debeers (a huge South African diamond company), but the Lesotho government didn't think they were getting a good enough deal and asked them to leave. The mine then sat there for 20 years without any production. The problem was that the Lesotho government didn't ahve the money or expertise to start and manage the mine. So about 5 years ago Letseng Diamonds worked out an agreement with the Lesotho government. The company would build and run the mine, while the Lesotho government recived 30% of all profits made by the mine. The government would also be able to charge tax on the remaining 70%, which went to the South Africa company. After knowing this story my views changed slightly. The Lesotho government had the oppertunity to run the mine independently, but didn't do anything with the mine. Is it better that at least they are getting the diamonds out of the ground and getting some money? Perhaps. One of the problems, I've been told, is that most of the money goes to paying off debts, so Lesotho isn't gaining imediately, as a nation, from the profits. The mine employs mainly Basotho, which with a 45% unemployment rate in the country, is a valuable contribution. I did come away with a less defensive view about foreign owned industry within Lesotho, but I still had that sickening feeling in my stomach for the Basotho people. Sometimes it seems like the 'normal' people of Lesotho will never gain from industry. Even if foreign companies are honest and Lesotho does get a good deal, much of the time the government doesn't put the money in the right place and the Basotho people (mostly in rural areas) don't see any of it. It's a tough one.
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