Sierra Leone: Artisanal Diamond Mining as a Means for Change

While the diamond sector is dominated by large scale mining and multinational corporations, 15-20% of all diamond production is from artisanal and small-scale mining sources. This supply has generally not been tracked or traced, instead ending up amongst parcels of diamonds from various large scale mined sources.

This lack of traceability has been a challenge for jewelers who are keen to support artisanal miners through their purchasing decisions. While the diamonds end up being sold, not knowing the journey keeps us from surfacing the true impact on artisanal miners and their communities.

We will be joined by Fas Lebbie, founder of Root Diamonds and Root Studios, a social enterprise initiative working to transition mining communities to sustainable livelihoods. We’ll also hear about a mine-to-market initiative that has successfully brought fully-traced artisanally-mined diamonds, verified through the GemFair program (a De Beers project), to market at scale from Jared Amadeo Holstein, a San Francisco-based diamond, colored stone, and estate jewelry wholesaler.

See more and register at Christina T. Miller Sustainable Jewelry Consulting website.