Riding the coattails of the largest diamond company operating in the country, Sierra Leone significantly increased its diamond exports in the first six months of 2013, year-over-year, Mining Weekly reports. The West African nation exported 331,471 carats of rough diamonds worth $102 million between January and June 2013, a full 43% increase in value over the 296,334 carats of rough diamonds worth $71 million it exported between January and June 2012.

Due to Sierra Leone's 5% levy on mining exports, the diamond trade brought the government $5.1 million in taxes during the same period, according to the country's National Mineral Agency. Besides an increase in the market price for diamonds, the most significant factor leading to the improvement in Sierra Leone's fortunes was the work of Beny Steinmetz's BSG Resources, which operates the country's only commercial diamond pit via its subsidiary Koidu Holdings. The rest of the nation's diamond output is accounted for by small artisanal miners, according to Mining Weekly.