Beyond Diamonds

For much of last year, the industry was focused on the issue of conflict diamonds, and with good reason. Despite the internal changes that were taking place in the diamond trade – the development of the Kimberley Process and the implementation of the System of Warranties – the public’s attention was drawn to the issue by the Hollywood drama Blood Diamond. A great deal was said about the movie both prior to and following its release, not only in the consumer press but also in the trade, which was no bad thing. After all, for a period of time in the 1990s, diamonds were complicit in fueling unspeakable tragedies throughout Africa, but especially in Liberia and Sierra Leone.

Those countries are still paying the price for what happened to them. Liberia has only just been allowed to join the Kimberley Process after sanctions on its diamond trade were lifted by the United Nations and more recently by the European Union, while Sierra Leone is trying to get back on its feet.

Within the industry, the ongoing vigilance of the Kimberley Process is helping to make diamond exports more transparent and exporters more accountable. Throughout the pipeline, from mine to retail, systems are in place to ensurethat diamonds can no longer be responsible for bringing about pain, suffering, and misery.

Although none of these regulations are 100 percent ‘safe’ and although some conflict stones, mostly from a small pocket of the Ivory Coast, are still slipping through the net of regulations, there has been an improvement in the way that the trade is conducted. While it would be glib to say that the ‘problem’ has been ‘solved,’ it is under control and will hopefully improve even further; however, an extremely close eye needs to be kept on the issue.

It would seem that the time has come to look beyond this one subject that has been dominating industry gatherings and meetings for such a long time now. At the recent WDC conference in Jerusalem, De Beers Managing Director Gareth Penny did exactly that in his keynote address. Among the many topics addressed in his “Living up to Diamonds,” speech, Penny touched on the concepts of communities, especially with regard to artisanal and alluvial miners and the environment, with specific reference to ecosystem destruction and pollution. These are, he believes, issues that are going to hit the industry hard and issues that must be addressed.

With his words in mind, IDEX Magazine decided to take a look at some of these subjects to examine exactly what is taking place and to see just how the industry is countering some of the potentially harmful effects of its activities.