Diamonds are made of carbon so they form as carbon atoms under a high temperature and pressure; they bond together to start growing crystals. Diamonds are formed underneath the Earth’s surface requiring them to be mined for, which can be a very high labor task. Out of the top ten countries in the world with the most diamonds, Africa has six of those countries (Said, Sammy. “Top Ten Countries with the Most Diamonds Found”). With six African countries being among the world leaders in diamond mining and exportation brings a lot of controversy. Some of these African countries have already been banned in the past from mining and exporting diamonds for many human rights violations. Angola is one of the world’s leading exporters of diamonds. Just …show more content…
Uncontrolled diamond mining has taken a heavy toll in certain African nations like Angola where negligent diamond mining has caused soil erosion, led to deforestation, and has pushed local populations out. Angola has been particularly lackadaisical in protecting its rivers and streams form abuse. Diamond miners have re-routed rivers and built dams to expose riverbeds for mining, with devastating effects on fish and wildlife. In other areas like the Kono district of Sierra Leon miners have left barren diamond mines. When these diamond mines are left empty so long over time they begin to collect stagnant rain water, which in turn can cause an infestation of mosquitoes to swarm and bread there. With so many mosquitoes it increases the number of malaria cases in those abandoned mining areas. Careless diamond mining has also led to destroying land that was once suitable for farming. Some areas such as Botswana and Namibia are doing their part in making sure they do not completely destroy certain lands after diamond mining. Local communities in the area work with international groups to refill the diamond mines that are not in use anymore, as well as bring back some of the native species and replacing lost top …show more content…
The distribution and production of diamonds is largely controlled by a few key players, the main one being Antwerp. Antwerp is where 80 percent of all rough diamonds, 50 percent of all cut diamonds, and 50 percent of all rough, cut and industrial diamonds are controlled. In New York almost 80 percent of the world diamonds are sold. De Beers is the world’s largest diamond miner and holds a governing position in the industry, and has done so since it was founded in 1888. De Beers owns or operates a large portion of the world’s rough diamond production mines and distribution networks. The DTC or Diamond Trading Company is a subsidiary of De Beers and markets diamonds from De Beers run mines. After being mined the diamonds are then sent to be cut and polished. The polishing and cutting of diamonds is a specific skill that is done in a limited number of locations worldwide. Original diamond cutting centers are Amsterdam, Antwerp, Johannesburg, New York, and Tel Aviv. More recently, due to the lower labor cost, diamond cutting centers have opened in China, India, Namibia, and Botswana. Diamonds which have been prepared as gemstones, such as the ones you would see in most engagement rings, are sold on diamond exchanges called bourses. “There are 28 registered diamond bourses in the world” (Linetskaya,Yelena. “Big Apple Secrets”).
De Beers SA, the world's largest diamond miner and marketer, was established by Cecil Rhodes and Charles Rudd when diamond was unearthed in Africa in the year 1886. Through the year of business changes and tabulation which makes today, De Beers is the leader in the diamond industry with an approximately US1.4 million of revenues. However, behind every success come with a price. Apart from the successful business practices, it was accompanied with positive and negative approaches. Shown below are the review and analysis.
Also, there needs to be a more defined definition of a blood diamond (“War on Blood Diamond Trade Loses its Lustre in Age of Digital”). The Central African Republic fails to realize that the diamonds being bought come from instances of executions, child labor, as well as looting (“Companies must Not Profit from Blood Diamonds”). Obviously, Africa is rich in minerals, which is its curse (Ainger et al.367: 9-27). Consequently, there has been 50 wars, fighting for control of resources. Political, social, and economical factors matter in these resource wars (Ainger, et al.367: 9-27). Recently, the Kimberly process fails to uphold in central Africa, Cameroon. As a result, Cameroon is flooding with conflict diamonds because of mediocre leadership along with corruption (“Conflict Diamonds from CAR Entering International Markets Via Cameroon”). This may be the effect after the African Republic was internationally embargoed in 2013 (“Conflict Diamonds from CAR Entering International Markets Via Cameroon”). Therefore, “As the Kimberley Process visits Cameroon, it must take action immediately and demonstrate to companies, retailers-and most importantly to consumers-that it is able to stop the flow of conflict diamonds," Offah Obale. Presently, the diamond industry is in a bit of a mix as the Kimberly process is expected to help countries receive clean diamonds in order to restore international market relationships ("War on Blood Diamond Trade Loses its Lustre in Age of Digital"). Now, it is known that the common life-span is estimated to be 34 years old in Africa, Sierra Leone. Also, “We have always maintained that the conflict is not about ideology, tribal or regional difference... The root of the conflict is and remains diamonds” says UN ambassador of Sierra Leone, Ibrahim Kamara. At the present time, there is a cease fire in the Republic of Congo since
The DeBeers’s group of companies is a leading diamond exploration, mining, retail and trading company that was founded in 1888. The organization has its headquarters in Luxembourg and has mining agreements in close to 30 countries inclusive of the world’s leading diamond producers such as South Africa, Botswana, Canada and Namibia (Cadieux, 2005). The company enjoys one of the leading market shares in the natural diamond industry with a current share of around 40%. However, this is a noted decline from past decades where it controlled up to 80% of the world’s diamond supply by the 1990s. The decline noted in its apparent monopoly was caused by a number of factors including the rise of new suppliers outside of its control. Additionally, negative press threatened its reputation as it was accused of unfair monopolistic and anti-competitive practices, price fixing and even dabbling in the supply and distribution of the controversial blood diamonds.
Members of the Diamonds feel protected with each other regarding protection from police. As I mentioned earlier, these youngsters had a strong rejection towards police officers, so feeling protected within the gang promotes defense against police invasion and apprehension. They carry out their job responsibilities in groups, at least three members, a work arrangement aimed at offering reliable protection. This arrangement keeps members alert and informed about the different threats surrounding them (Padilla 1996, 111). They are always on constant watch for police officers. When a call is made, members of the Diamonds are extra cautious (Padilla 1996, 147). In other words, protection makes them feel more secure within themselves, but also within
Although there are no firm estimates of how many diamonds are in circulation, to put these numbers into perspective, one out of 25 diamonds to three out of 20 diamonds will trace back to an illegal source. However many of the diamonds that are mined today are claimed to be conflict free. De Beers, the largest producer of diamonds in the world, states on its website that “more than 99% (99.8%) of the world’s diamonds are certified conflict free” (FAQs). This statement from the De Beers Company shows that there is progress being made however there is still a gap in the industry for which conflict diamonds may sneak through. Although miniscule amounts of blood diamonds are being traded today, they still pose a threat to the world if any rogue nation decides to begin buying blood diamonds thus filling the coffers of the warlords and perpetuating the violence that already plagues countries like Sierra Leone.
Alluvial mining requires the straining of water from dirt and mud to then expose diamonds. The extraction of diamonds using these methods is responsible for the deterioration of the mining sites. The leading example of this form of man-made devastation is The Big Hole, one of the largest human excavated chasms in the world, located in South Africa. Although exploited nowadays as a tourist trap, it is a clear demonstration of humanity’s involvement in the destruction of our natural diamond resources. Commercial mining in Sierra Leone and DRC has been growing recently, but it is small scale diamond mining that has had the largest negative impact on the environmental and the neighboring communities.
Have you ever glanced at your ring finger and admired the beautiful diamond on it? Now have you ever wondered where that diamond came from or how many lives were affected just to get it? Those are the questions you should ask yourself the next time you visit your local jewelry store for a visit. People worldwide should make an effort to stop buying conflict diamonds. They are funding wars in Africa everyday. Workers working in the mining business are in a danger zone. Innocent men, women, and children are getting caught in between the conflict and are being forced to work. If people would stop buying conflict diamonds from conflict areas, Africa would be a better and more productive place.
On to the negative effects of the discovery of diamonds, diamonds caused outraged violence and safety/health issues to the population of Africa. African rebels that controlled the mines were extremely violent. Rebels in the mines would cut off a workers body part as a form of discipline if they were not working to the level that they wanted. Rebels also kidnapped people from villages to work in the mines. In the event of the kidnappings, adults and children were killed, raped, and tortured which led to limitless families being
Political Factors One of the key political factors Blue Nile, and the entire jewelry industry, must concern themselves with is the risk of procuring conflict diamonds. For the most part diamonds are obtained in politically unstable countries in the world, like Africa. The majority of diamond mines are within countries that are underdeveloped, where corruption is high and laws are easily broken. The chance for a militia group taking over diamond mines or diamond smuggling are high in these countries and could potentially become pricy for Blue Nile. Initiatives enacted in early 2000’s have made significant impacts on illegal trade within the industry.
With the fact the Diamonds are made by the rock cycle then it affects where we can find them. We can see this from the fact that certain areas in the world have certain attributes that let diamonds be able to form. Crain found that diamonds may be spat out in the volcanic smoke that is released during an eruption. We can find them with the gravel that came out as well with the volcanic
They use the profits from the sale of the diamonds to finance their revolutionary goals. Blood Diamonds is the term used for diamonds mined and sold in this way. The Kimberly Process was brought about in 2002 by The United Nations, the diamond industry and countries who buy diamonds, to fight against these blood diamonds. The Kimberly Process ensures that diamonds exported from these countries are documented and certified and are not mined and acquired in this way. Only a small amount of these blood diamonds are able to slip through due to this process.
Adding to that, diamond mining produces many jobs and economic growth (Diamond Facts website, 2016). Globally, ten million people are employed due to the diamond industry (Diamond Facts website, 2016). Most diamonds come from less developed countries (Diamond Facts website, 2016). These countries use the revenue produced by diamond mining to better their country (Diamond Facts website, 2016). Much of the revenue goes to building infrastructure like hospitals, schools, roads, and clean water systems (Diamond Facts website, 2016). The diamond trade produces eight point four billion dollars to Africa (Diamond Facts website, 2016). Countries within Africa such as Botswana and Namibia have evidenced that profits from diamonds aid less developed countries have substantial benefits like economic growth and stability (Diamond Facts website, 2016). Profits from mining diamonds has shown to play an important role in turning war-torn countries into economically stable places (Diamond Facts website, 2016). Botswana has one of the fastest growing economies in the world, chiefly due to the diamond industry (Diamond Facts website, 2016). Without diamond mining, Botswana would lose three billion dollars in profits per year (Diamond Facts website, 2016). The result would be devastating to
Close to 49% of diamonds are coming from Central and Southern Africa. Also sources of the mineral have been discovered in Canada, India, Russia, Brazil, and Australia. They are mined from kimberlitic and lamproite volcanic
The story of these infamous diamonds all started with a fifteen year old who found a diamond in his father 's arm. The diamond business started in 1935 when “De Beers” took all control over dining prospects in Sierra Leone. De Beers are a group of companies has a main role in the exploration of diamonds, as well as diamond mining, diamond retail, diamond trading, and industrial diamond manufacturing sectors.This group was founded in 1888, and they are responsible for the problems Sierra Leone is facing today. These diamonds can be found in volcanic pipes. Diamonds are a pure form of carbon in a transparent state. Diamonds have always been a sign of wealth. Historically kings and queens were known for wearing these. Over time many people began lusting over them.
The process of producing the diamonds so they could be sold on the market involved many steps which were illustrated in the movie, Blood Diamond. Smugglers like Archer would supply the RUF with guns. The guns would be used by the RUF to intimidate the people of Sierra Leone into working as laborers for them, we see this with Solomon and his son. These men would be forced to dig in the water mines for hours a day searching for diamonds of all sizes. Then the diamonds are mixed with other diamonds all around the world, mixing the illegal ones with the legal ones; this was explained in the movie by Archer to Maggie. When the diamonds are mixed in with the others, no one can determine for certainty where each originated from. It is then distributed to nations where they are made into necklaces and bracelets, and no questions are asked.