Congo Resources

[Berliner]

A bummer for diamond miner

http://www.news24.com/News24/Africa/News/0,9294,2-11-1447_2053902,00.html

A bummer for diamond miner
11/01/2007 22:02 - (SA)


Kinshasa - A pilfering worker in a Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) diamond mine was caught in the act when he walked past a security scanner with 126 of the sparkling gems stashed up his rear end, said a mine spokesperson on Thursday.

The would-be thief, a cleaner, "hid the small stones" - valued at $5 000 - "in his anus," explained Mike Mutombo of the Miba mining company in the DRC.

"An investigation has been opened and the heads of the relevant services have been suspended," he said, adding that it was "practically impossible" for the heist to have been organised without the connivance of others in the selection centre where the cleaner worked.

No information was released as to how the diamonds were recovered, or whether the man was arrested.

The Miba mine, 80% owned by the state and 20% by Mwana Africa and listed on the Alternative Investment Market in London, is spread over a 45 000km² area in the Kasai region of central DRC.

The company produces six million carats of mainly industrial diamonds a year.