Mining Issues
« Previous Entries Next Entries »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 [...]
Steady Progress in Gold Mining Practices
Friday, January 23rd, 2009With the recent down slide of the world economy, gold is in higher demand than ever, making it even more important to scrutinize the social and environmental impacts of mining for gold. A good deal of the world’s gold is mined by small-scale artisanal miners, who often work under unsafe mining conditions, and rarely receive [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
Oro Verde – Producer of Fair Trade Gold: World Challenge Competition Finalist
Wednesday, November 12th, 2008Brilliant Earth is proud to announce that Oro Verde from Chocó, Colombia has been selected as a finalist among more than 700 other global initiatives for the 2008 World Challenge Competition. In working with Oro Verde, we’ve had the opportunity to experience first hand their commitment to creating a socially and environmentally responsible artisanal gold [...]
« Previous Entries Next Entries »