Tongo, also known as Tongoma, is a

diamond Diamond is a solid form of the element carbon with its atoms arranged in a crystal structure called diamond cubic. Another solid form of carbon known as graphite is the chemically stable form of carbon at room temperature and pressure, ...

mining Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the Earth, usually from an ore body, lode, vein, seam, reef, or placer deposit. The exploitation of these deposits for raw material is based on the economic ...

town and the second largest city in

Kenema District Kenema District is a district in the Eastern Province of Sierra Leone. Its capital city, capital and largest city is Kenema, which is the third most populous city in Sierra Leone, after Freetown and Bo. Tongo is the second most populous city i ...

, (after the city of

Kenema Kenema is the third largest city in Sierra Leone (after Freetown and Bo), and the largest city in the country's Eastern Province. It is the capital of Kenema District and a major economic center of the Eastern Province. At the 2015 national cens ...

) located in the Eastern Province of

Sierra Leone Sierra Leone,)]. officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered by Liberia to the southeast and Guinea surrounds the northern half of the nation. Covering a total area of , Sierr ...

. Tongo is about twenty seven miles to Kenema. The population of the 60-sq.-mile city is 44,376. The town is the seat of the Tongo Diamond Field, one of the largest diamond-producing areas in Sierra Leone.

Demography

The city of Tongoma is ethnically and religiously diverse. The city is home to a significant number of most of the country's ethnic groups and attract people from all parts of Sierra Leone, due to the rich diamond mining in the area.

Sport

As in all parts of Sierra Leone, football (soccer) is by far the most popular sport in Tongo. Children are seen playing street football all over the city. The city even have a professional football club in the

Sierra Leone National Premier League Sierra Leone National Premier League is a professional football league in Sierra Leone. It was founded in 1967. The league is sponsored by the Sierra Leone Commercial Bank, one of the major Sierra Leonean banks. East End Lions and Mighty Blackpoo ...

called the Gem Stars of Tongo.

Tongo Diamond mining Field

The Government of Sierra Leone headed by the Minister of Natural Resources under the Administration of president

Ahmad Tejan Kabbah Alhaji Ahmad Tejan Kabbah (February 16, 1932 – March 13, 2014) was a Sierra Leonean politician who served twice as the 3rd President of Sierra Leone, from 1996 to 1997 and again from 1998 to 2007. An economist and attorney by profession, K ...

originally granted a Mining Lease for the Tongo Diamond Field to Rex Diamond Mining Corporation Limited, a diamond mining and exploration company with its head office in Antwerp,

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

. However, the new administration of president

Ernest Bai Koroma Ernest Bai Koroma (born 2 October 1953) is a Sierra Leonean politician who served as the fourth President of Sierra Leone from 17 September 2007 to 4 April 2018. Born and raised in Makeni in northern Sierra Leone, Koroma spent more than 24 ...

headed by his Minister of Mines and Natural Resources suspended this contract. A letter issued by Sierra Leone Ministry of Mines and Natural Resources required them to confirm that they would restart their operations or give up their mineral rights. Rex Mining failed to commit sufficient resources to their exploration programmes. As a result, the Government cancelled their Tongo and Zimmi mining leases in October 2007. In an effort to introduce greater transparency into the granting of a new mineral right for the former mining lease area in the Tongo Diamond Field, the government of Sierra Leone decided to publicly offer the former mining lease area open to bids for exploration licences from interested companies. The advertisement published in local newspapers and on the internet stated that application forms could be obtained from the Geological Survey. The advertisement asked that in addition to providing ten completed application forms, interested parties should make a non-refundable payment of US$5,000 by bank draft to the Director of Mines. The advertisement included a statement that 'Companies are guaranteed a Mining Lease in accordance with the Mines and Mineral Act 1996 if prospects prove economically viable.' Other than some basic details on the dykes and 'blows' that had been discovered previously no further geological information was provided. Populated places in Sierra Leone Eastern Province, Sierra Leone Diamond mines in Sierra Leone Mining communities in Africa {{SierraLeone-geo-stub