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Lab grown diamonds are increasing in popularity, and not just among celebrities. National Organiser Natalie Punter explains some of the reasons these were chosen for our Diamond Draw. When we were setting up the Diamond Draw for our anniversary extension year, Diamonds are Forever, we knew that we wanted real diamonds as prizes, but we also knew that diamonds can be an ethical and moral minefield. Did you know that it takes an average of nearly 100 square feet of land, and between 200 and 2,000 tons of earth and dirt, to mine one carat of diamond? Or that more than 100 gallons of water are used in the production of mined diamonds, as opposed to less than 20 gallons to create a carat of lab grown diamond? When we look at a diamond, it can be hard to imagine that it began as a rough gem deep inside the earth. Most of us are so far-removed from what diamonds actually are that it’s difficult for us to wrap our minds around their origins. However, in order to begin to understand ethical issues surrounding diamonds, it’s important to first consider how they’re mined. Diamonds are found in two places: deep under the earth’s surface in ancient kimberlite formations, extracted via pipe mining; and in riverbeds and the ocean floor, extracted via alluvial mining. Most are found in Africa, where they’re sourced both from deep-earth mines and alluvial beds – although some diamonds are mined in Canada and Russia. Each diamond takes millions of years to form and requires hugely extensive resources — both equipment and manpower — and time to discover. Deep-earth mines are owned and operated by large corporations, the largest and probably most well-known of which is De Beers. Industrial mining companies also perform alluvial mining. However, a percentage of alluvial mining is performed by hand, a meticulous process, much like gold Alluvial diamond miners in Kono District, Sierra Leone
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NWR Magazine Summer 2021
Lost and found I lost my diamond engagement ring at an antenatal appointment. Searched everywhere. One year later, on holiday with our small son and looking for change for ice creams, I felt something in the corner of my purse. It was the diamond of my ring which had slipped through a tiny hole in the lining. Elaine Lane, Warwick and Leamington NWR
mining in the 19th and early 20th centuries. This is commonly referred to as artisanal mining and is done by individuals, mainly in African nations. It is estimated that around a million African artisanal miners earn less than $1 per day for this back breaking work. The miners live in extreme poverty in communities that often lack running water and proper sanitation, and many of them are children as young as five years old. They work six to seven days a week and the work is completely unregulated, and therefore dangerous. Conditions are generally unsafe and unsanitary, with days spent digging in stagnant, dirty water that breeds insects and disease. Workers do not have proper tools, training, or safety equipment and accidents frequently cause injuries and death. Alluvial miners are also often subject to horrific human rights violations—with violence, torture, and rape being perpetrated by government militias and armed rebel groups seeking to capture and control mining areas. The process also wreaks environmental devastation across the land, rendering it unusable for farming or other uses. Estimates of how much of the world’s diamonds come from this background range from to 14 to 20 percent. You will, I am sure, have heard the term ‘blood diamonds,’ also sometimes referred to as ‘conflict diamonds.’ These phrases come from the late 1990s and are used in connection with violent rebel groups that were taking over mining areas in Central and West Africa. Rebel groups used brutal, deadly force and, in some cases, systematic rape, to take over diamond areas. They would then illegally trade diamonds for weapons and money, which, in turn, fuelled additional violence and atrocities. These blood or conflict diamonds were exported to jewellery stores around the world. In response, in 2003 a process called the Kimberley Process Certification System was established, to prevent conflict diamonds from entering the diamond supply chain. There is some debate about how well the Kimberley Process actually works but there is nonetheless reasonable confidence that diamonds sold through legitimate sources are not funding rebel-led civil wars, and they are therefore described as ‘conflict-free’ in some marketing materials. However, it is
Photo: Silvia Emilie from Pixabay
Guilt-free gems
