Mining Issues
« Previous Entries Next Entries »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 [...]
Ethical Jewelry Industry Expresses Concern for Wal-Mart’s Love, Earth® Collection
Tuesday, November 4th, 2008Since the recent unveiling of Wal-Mart’s eco-friendly jewelry line, Love, Earth®, environmental groups and ethical jewelry industry leaders have expressed concerns that Wal-Mart’s “green” claims for its eco-conscious jewelry are false. Recently, complaints have been issued to the Consumers Union and Federal Trade Commission. The worry is that Wal-Mart is fooling consumers into thinking they [...]
Top Trends for Bridal Jewelry
Monday, November 3rd, 2008More than ever, women want their engagement and wedding rings to be designed specifically to fit their lifestyle and personality – the ideal ring is unique and personalized to be like no other. Many brides and brides-to-be are opting to customize their rings to match their individual design tastes. Popular customizations include personalized engravings, and [...]
Brilliant Earth joins the Association for Responsible Mining Stakeholder Alliance
Wednesday, October 1st, 2008Brilliant Earth is excited to be accepted as a member of the Association for Responsible Mining Stakeholder Alliance. ARM is an organization that is critical to improving the lives of artisanal miners of gold and diamonds. The majority of artisanal and small-scale mining destroys eco-systems worldwide and creates largely unsafe and poorly paid working conditions [...]
Contention surrounding Pebble Mine
Thursday, September 11th, 2008The proposed new Pebble Mine in a remote area of Alaska has become a major source of contention for locals, fishermen, mining operations and international activists. Situated near the edge of Bristol Bay in southwest Alaska, the Pebble Mine site is rich in gold and copper and, if built, would be the largest open pit [...]
Introducing Brilliant Earth’s New Website Features
Wednesday, August 27th, 2008In our continuing effort to provide as much detail as possible about the origins of our ethically sourced jewelry, we’re excited to announce the following recent additions to our website.
Colored gemstone mining is often conducted unscrupulously and in a manner that damages the environment and creates adverse labor and living conditions for miners and local [...]
Report on Child Gold Mining in Africa
Friday, August 22nd, 2008According to United Nations reports, 1/5 of the world’s gold comes from primitive bush mines in Africa, South America and Asia, which are being mined by children as young as four years old. These impoverished children are lured by promises of $2/day wages, of which they typically only receive a fraction. The children are required [...]
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