Mining Issues
« Previous EntriesBrilliant Earth Earns “A” in Gold Examination
Tuesday, April 13th, 2010The results are in and Brilliant Earth has aced the test. A new report by the No Dirty Gold Campaign, a campaign against dirty gold mining by Earthworks International, gives us an “A” for our measures to source gold in an ethical, eco-friendly way. Brilliant Earth’s jewelry is crafted using recycled precious metals. In addition, [...]
Jewelry Industry Retains Ability to Exploit Precious Corals
Thursday, April 8th, 2010Jewelry producers have escaped an international measure that would have limited their ability to make jewelry out of red and pink corals. Environmentalists had been seeking to protect the corals, a building block of the ocean ecosystem, under a treaty known as the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and [...]
Fair Trade Gold Takes a Leap Forward
Wednesday, March 31st, 2010A hugely important milestone has been reached in the effort to create a supply of fair trade certified gold. Thanks to a promising new initiative announced recently, thousands of artisanal gold miners in developing countries will soon be able to sell their gold under a new, fair trade labeling system, a partnership between the [...]
Mugabe to Kimberley Process: Don’t Try to Stop Us
Thursday, March 25th, 2010As a South African monitor arrives in Zimbabwe to assess the human rights situation, a decisive moment looms for the Kimberley Process (KP), the international diamond certification scheme whose supposed purpose is to combat the problem of conflict diamonds. The options for the KP are becoming starker: either bow down to Robert Mugabe, Zimbabwe’s corrupt [...]
In Wake of Kimberley Process Decision, Zimbabwe Military Leaders Poised to Reap Millions
Wednesday, December 30th, 2009When the Kimberley Process (KP) in early November chose not to suspend Zimbabwe for human rights abuses in the country’s diamond fields, the KP defended its decision on the grounds that the Zimbabwean government could be coaxed into cleaning up its act. Regrettably, the picture that is emerging is one of continued exploitation of the [...]
Water near Honduran Gold Mine has Acidity of Vinegar
Monday, December 28th, 2009A new report has found evidence that a gold mine in Central America, now in the process of being closed, may leave a bitter legacy. The San Martin mine, in the Siria Valley of Honduras, is operated by Goldcorp, one of the world’s largest gold mining companies. Since the mine opened in 2000, community groups [...]
60 Minutes Report: Gold Mining Fuels Deadly Conflict in Congo
Wednesday, December 23rd, 2009Media attention to the problem of “conflict diamonds” has raised public awareness about the negative social and environmental consequences associated with diamond mining. Less media attention has been given to gold mining and how, as with diamonds, the lust for mineral wealth can lead to some of the same disturbing consequences. Brilliant Earth therefore [...]
UN Security Council Extends Ban on Diamonds from Côte d’Ivoire
Thursday, November 12th, 2009Measures by the United Nations to prevent the export of diamonds from Côte d’Ivoire will continue into the foreseeable future. Last week the United Nations Security Council voted to extend sanctions on the West African nation for another year. Those sanctions ban other states from importing diamonds from Côte d’Ivoire while also imposing an arms [...]
Poll Shows Opposition to Pebble Mine
Tuesday, October 27th, 2009A controversial proposal to build an enormous gold and copper mine in an environmentally-sensitive region of Alaska has run into a roadblock: local opinion. A recent poll by an Anchorage-based research firm has found that 79 percent of residents in nearby communities are against the proposed Pebble Mine project. The poll should hopefully cause a [...]
The Kimberley Process Fails Badly in Zimbabwe
Wednesday, September 30th, 2009Since 2008, Zimbabwe has been a major perpetrator of grave diamond-related human rights abuses, including numerous accounts of robbery, rape, and murder. We, at Brilliant Earth, are appalled by these events, as well as the failure of the KP (KP) and the diamond industry to address these atrocities.
After months of international concern over the human [...]