Huge army of persons -men,
women and children have
flocked the Blue village, and many
more are immigrating there on a
daily basis. The demographic pull
factor there is diamond, which is
easily turned into hard currency.
Before the Blue Village was
discovered, a lot of mineral
deposits had been left untapped
on the Mambilla Plateau for
centuries.
“We are all here to find diamond.
The diamond is money. It has
brought every person you see
here. The town you are seeing
grew because of the search for
Blue,” said Mrs. Helen Joseph, a
Kaka indigene from Baruwa,
Gashaka local government area
of Taraba State. Mrs. Joseph, 36,
has spent only two weeks in
Mayo-Sina, but she said she is
making it. “I realised N10,000 the
first day I arrived here,” she told
The Nation. She said she heard
the news from neighbours and
decided to come and witness
what was happening in the area.
But since coming, she said she is
no longer thinking of leaving.
Michael Akura, 47, is Tiv from
Benue State. He said he also
heard the interesting gist about
the place and decided to go
there. Akura who has completed
a month in the Blue Village
described the local mining
business as lucrative.
Hamidu Umar, 42, is a local miner
from Sokoto. He was seen at the
Blue Vllage with his son and
three of his brothers searching
for precious stones. He said he
has been in the business for 18
years, from which he takes care
of his wife and other family
members. He said he has got
more than N5 million since he
arrived the Blue village in March.
Money spinners
The Nation also spoke to the
buyers who are referred to as
“dealers.” There are two types of
dealers. There are middlemen or
agents who buy directly from the
miners -referred to as labourers.
The middlemen sell to the main
dealers who have come from
different parts of the continent.
Hamasumo Salihu, 45, is another
veteran dealer in local mining. He
said for the past 15 years he has
not done any other business
than mining. “This is what I have
been doing as a source of living
for the past 15 years,” he said. He
said he had ventured into local
mining just to keep body and
soul together. But along the line
his luck shone and he achieved a
lot from the business. Sitting next
to Salihu were two other dealers:
Mustapha Aliyu, 28, and Ismaila
Gidado, 25. Aliyu and Gidado
came into the diamond field one
day in July and since then have
become partners in the business
of buying and reselling precious
stones.
The cost of diamond depends on
its quality. Quality here is
determined by its purity, size and
colour. The blue diamond, for
instance, is more expensive than
the white or green diamond. One
gram of pure blue can cost from
N200, 000 to N1million,
depending on its quality and the
bargaining forces and type of
dealer involved. Abdulkadri
Ibrahim, 33, who has 14 year
experience in the business said a
single stone costs more than tiny
diamonds assembled together,
even if they weigh the same
grams. The market theory of
demand and supply also works
here. So the cost of diamond in
Mayo-Sina also depends on
bargaining and purchasing
powers as well as the eagerness
of the labourer to sell his
commodity. One labourer had
sold a diamond weighing 59
grams to an agent for N8 million
who later resold it for N20
million. The highest sale has been
N32 million by a young man of
less than 20 years. Eye-witnesses
said the buyer had even enticed
him with a Kia Jeep gift before
buying the commodity for N32
million. Many others have also
made between N500,000 and N2
million. Another woman sold tiny
diamonds weighing 89.3 grams
for N200,000.
Looking at the site, you will think
at least 20 bulldozers are at
work. No, the miners are using
blunt implements such as hoe,
digger and bare hands to dig the
earth in search of the precious
stones. The cold weather
provides a clement atmosphere
for miners to work throughout
the day.

Hi,
so how do we go into this biz? Which miners do we contact, text me,
08098242288

hmm

Impressive! Nigeria is truly a land overflowing with milk and honey

tony231:
Hi,
so how do we go into this biz? Which miners do we contact, text me,
08098242288

These people are just trying their luck using unsophisticated equipments like hoes and diggers. The town, Mayo-Sina in Taraba state came into limelight as d population rose to 20,000 after the setlement came into existence in January this year. People are just trooping there to do business and whoever is willing to find diamond. You are nt to contact anyone. The news is being peddled around as d town becomes the fastest growing setlement in d world.