(Medeshi) -Ahmed , a  friend of mine who has just come back from Somaliland has shown me  the gem stones illustrated here  which he collected from a location close to Aw Barkhadle just few kilometres North East of Hargeisa , the capital of Somaliland.
 The stones are raw and need finishing . Ahmed Keyse who brought the stones from Somaliland told me that there is too much activity  currently going  on  in Somaliland that is related to the collection of minerals that are easily found on the surface in the mountainous areas of the country .
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| Left Emerald stones , Right  Ruby stones from Somaliland (photo by M. Ali ) |
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| Unfinished Jewellery  Diamonds from Somaliland ( Photo by M. Ali ). |
He has brought with him at least one kilogram of raw Emerald stones , a small quantity of Jewellery Diamond and Ruby stones which need polishing and finishing.
Somaliland is rich in minerals and many of these minerals are easily found close to the surface. These include Diamond and sapphire and other precious metals that are  also found in small quantities in SLD. Paint  is abundant in the coastal areas close to  Berbera and colourful layers of paint can easily be seen on the sides  of the highway that connects Berbera to Sheikh.There are other parts of the country such Sanaag that are still virgin and undiscovered with greats prospects of rich mineral findings.
Ahmed also told me about  a new trade in sand and heavy rocks that he has seen during his short stay in the country . He mentioned that some merchants are currently exporting fine sand through Berbera to unknown locations , possibly China and that  this export is in bulk and the merchants are using large bulk carriers  for that purpose.
This is in addition to oil and gas discovered both offshore and in-land in the coastal areas as well as in Sool and Hawd.
Somaliland government has recently awarded oil and gas drilling contracts to foreign companies and the prospects  are great for the production of oil and gas in the near future .
Somaliland gained independence from Somalia in 1991 but has not yet been recognized by any country although its  stability is similar to most  sovereign countries .
By M. Ali
