ROMANCING THE STONES : Speedway Racer Tony Briggs and His Father, a Former Champion, Are Taking a Different Kind of Risk: Mining for Diamonds in Africa

Tony Briggs was sitting on the patio of his parents’ home that overlooks Dana Point Harbor, showing a reporter a collection of photographs that he took while working in Africa.

Life on the Lofa River in the jungle of Liberia where Briggs mined for diamonds seemed so distant. Below his parents’ home, sailboats were floating across the bay in a panoramic setting on a beautiful, cloudless day.

The pictures told a different story. For five months, Briggs, a speedway racer, and his father, former four-time world speedway champion Barry Briggs, lived in a mud-thatched, palm-leaf roofed hut in Gbnei, where they set the groundwork for what they hope will be a profitable mining operation.

The elder Briggs owns the mineral rights for one mile on each side of Liberia’s second-largest river, which cuts through the heart of the West African nation and flows to the Atlantic Ocean. The river is rich in gold and diamond deposits, which along with rubber, are Liberia’s chief exports.

They built a hydraulic pump and cutter to extract the precious stones from a huge pit next to the river. Tony also dived into the murky waters of the Lofa to search for gold and diamonds.

It may sound like a glamorous adventure with a script borrowed straight from “Romancing the Stone,” but mining for diamonds in a remote jungle is hard work and a big gamble.

“We spent more time building equipment than we did mining,” Barry said. “We had to build everything because we were in such a remote area. It was the first time I had ever built anything hydraulic, and we were constantly repairing the machinery.”

The Briggs were aided by 15 local natives who worked for $3 a day in sweltering heat. Getting help was no problem, even at those wages.

“The first day we arrived, everyone was asking if they could work for us,” Tony said. “They were ready to leave their families on the spot for an opportunity to work.”

The first order of business was to build several roads to transport their equipment to the river. The chief source of transportation was a pair of motorcycles that adapted well to the primitive roads.

The Briggs temporarily lived in a tent, which was impractical because of the heavy rains. Later, they moved into a hut that the natives built.

Liberia lies in a tropical rain forest belt with distinct wet and dry seasons. The Briggs worked from November to April and then were forced to stop because the rainy season can produce up to 200 inches of rainfall.

“You almost have to be African in your thinking and pace yourself, or else you’ll never survive,” Barry said. “Mining is a bit of a gamble. Sometimes, you’ll find three or four diamonds at a time, then work two weeks for nothing.”

The physical work and adverse living conditions seemed to agree with Tony Briggs. Only three years ago, he was in a hospital bed with a broken neck after a crash at Coventry, England, in a British Speedway League match.

He spent three months in the hospital, and doctors told him he would never walk again. He recovered and went to South Africa to train for a racing comeback. During a routine checkup, X-rays revealed that a bone fusion in the back of his neck was bending the ligaments.

He wore a neck brace for six weeks and then wore a full body plaster cast for another six weeks. He quit racing and coached soccer at a YMCA.

“I couldn’t race because I didn’t have the strength in my hand to hold in the clutch,” Tony said. “Then, last year I decided to go and have a ride. I rode a little at the end of last season, but I wasn’t happy with my equipment.”

This year, Briggs spent some of diamond mining profits on some new equipment and is getting results. He won a handicap main event at San Bernardino last week and finished second in the same race at Costa Mesa three weeks ago.

A knee infection has slowed him down, but the 24-year-old seems to be regaining his racing form.

“For the first time in a long time, I feel like I’m going fast and getting some speed,” Briggs said. “It feels good.”

Barry Briggs has yet to slow down. He burst into the racing scene from New Zealand to become one of the most well-known and popular athletes in Europe. He was awarded the Member of the British Empire by Queen Elizabeth at Buckingham Palace. He has been the subject of three books. He works as a sports commentator for the BBC.

He arrived in California Tuesday hoping to interest potential investors in his diamond mining operation. Both father and son plan on returning to Liberia in November when the rainy season ends.

Barry Briggs, also known as “Briggo,” appears to be more excited about his latest endeavor than any of his racing exploits.

“The groundwork has been laid . . . the equipment is there. Hopefully, we can now go over there and mine.

“Besides the motivation of making some money, this is something you would never do in your life. I’ve done a lot of things in my life, but people are more interested in this than anything I’ve ever done.”