In the News
« Previous Entries Next Entries »Zimbabwe Minister Faces Questions on Mass Graves
Tuesday, April 7th, 2009In November, the Zimbabwe government massacred illegal diamond miners who had taken to the diamond fields to alleviate their desperate poverty. An estimated 140 miners were killed in the brutal raids. Zimbabwean parliamentarians will now interrogate Obert Mpofu, the minister of mines, regarding allegations that 83 of the illegal miners allegedly killed by the army [...]
PAC Wants Zimbabwe Expelled from Kimberley Process
Wednesday, March 11th, 2009International calls to expel Zimbabwe from the UN’s Kimberley Process have become increasingly urgent. The organization Partnership Africa Canada (PAC) has initiated a campaign to expel Zimbabwe from the Kimberley Process as evidence mounts against the government’s ability to control diamond exports.
Stimulus Package Raises Hopes for Mine Cleanup
Wednesday, February 25th, 2009The economic stimulus package that President Obama signed on Tuesday contains more than $1.5 billion for construction and maintenance projects by the Bureau of Land Management, the National Park Service and the Forest Service. Proposed projects include addressing pollution and safety hazards caused by abandoned mines on public lands.
Protest over Botswana Bushmen’s Land Rights
Friday, February 13th, 2009Human rights group Survival International hosted a protest yesterday outside of UK diamond purveyor Graff Diamonds’ flagship London store. The group has demanded that Graff Diamonds pull its stake in a new diamond mine in Botswana. The mine is situated on the land of the traditional Kalahari Bushmen, who have already been recently displaced and [...]
Big Step Forward for Fair Trade Gold
Friday, February 13th, 2009An important step has been taken to increase the availability of independently certified fair trade gold on the international market. Ethically sourced gold may soon join the ranks of increasingly popular third party fair trade certified products, such as chocolate and coffee brands. In December, 2008 the boards of the Alliance for Responsible Mining (ARM) [...]
Diamond Fingerprinting Study
Friday, February 13th, 2009In spite of greater worldwide attention to diamond sourcing, smuggling is still a serious problem. In Southern African countries, in particular, many stones are still being illegally mined, smuggled, and sold to fund conflicts and corrupt government practices. In an effort to help reduce illegal mining and smuggling, South Africa’s national mineral research organization, Mintek, [...]
Zimbabwe’s Soldiers Looting Diamonds
Friday, January 30th, 2009Following the Zimbabwean government’s recent violent removal of illegal miners in the country’s diamond fields, the soldiers sent to carry out the horrific purge have now themselves moved in to the diamond fields to continue the looting. The soldiers are even employing the same impoverished local villagers whom they drove away to work as veritable [...]
Zimbabwe’s Kimberley Process Status Investigated
Friday, January 23rd, 2009Zimbabwe is in danger of losing its Kimberley Process status as a source of conflict-free diamonds. The Kimberley Process was instated in 2003 to address the problem of conflict diamonds funding civil wars. The mass inquiry will address the extent of Zimbabwe’s control over its diamond exports and whether illegally smuggled stones are supporting Robert [...]
The Price of Gold
Thursday, January 22nd, 2009National Geographic’s January feature story does a fantastic job of examining the human and environmental toll of gold mining around the world. It is full of fascinating facts and gripping human stories - highly recommended reading!
With the international price of gold recently skyrocketing to over $1,000 per ounce, the millennia-old global scramble for gold has [...]
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 [...]
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