Archive for December, 2008
Poverty Leads to Diamond Violence in Zimbabwe
Thursday, December 11th, 2008Zimbabwe’s recent economic collapse has driven its poverty-stricken citizens to dangerous measures. Many people are illegally searching for diamonds in the country’s diamond fields, where they are regularly being killed by police. The country’s diamond mines are controlled by the government, which routinely routs and arrests or kills citizens in order to safeguard its diamond [...]
U.S. Bans Import of Burmese Rubies and Jadeite
Thursday, December 11th, 2008Expanding the reach of its series of Burmese trade embargoes, the U.S. began enforcing a ban on rubies and jadeite of Burmese origin in October. Critics have deemed the move largely futile, given the vast quantities of gemstones already being traded on the international market, both legally and illegally. Nonetheless, any efforts to avoid fueling [...]
Unregulated Madagascar Sapphire Mining
Thursday, December 11th, 2008Before 1998, the town of Ilakaka, Madagascar had only about 40 residents. Now, it has ballooned into a city of tens of thousands, thanks to the discovery of sizable sapphire deposits. While many of the deposits were once found near the surface of the sandy ground, the easily mined minerals were quickly extracted. Now, miners [...]
South Africa Cracks Down on Dangerous Mines
Wednesday, December 10th, 2008South Africa’s parliament recently passed a mine safety law that holds company executives criminally responsible for deaths in the country’s gold mines. South African gold mines are among the deepest and most dangerous in the world, and have been responsible for tens of thousands of deaths in the last century. While safety conditions have improved [...]
Kimberley Process Review Reveals Holes
Wednesday, December 10th, 2008Since its launch in 2003, the Kimberley Process of international diamond certification has prevented large quantities of conflict diamonds from entering consumer markets, but there is more work to be done. At the recent sixth annual meeting of the Kimberley Process, Partnership Africa Canada presented a report pointing to dangerous holes in the process. The [...]