AYV News, October 17, 2022
Chief Executive Officer of De Beers Group, Al Cook, has said with the involvement of GemFair, they are now very confident in the safety and human rights standards of Sierra Leone’s diamond.
Al Cook said: “As the industry leader, I believe De Beers can play a positive role in raising standards and transparency in the artisanal diamond sector. This brings benefit to miners, their communities and the industry at large. On a visit to Sierra Leone this week, I had the opportunity to meet workers and community members participating in the programme. It was wonderful to hear how GemFair is making a real difference to their lives. I’m very proud of the programme. I believe it can play an important role in transforming consumer perceptions of artisanal diamonds and transforming livelihoods across Africa.”
De Beers Group has announced that GemFair, its programme focused on developing a responsible sourcing model for the artisanal and small-scale diamond mining sector, has reached the key milestone of purchasing its 10,000th diamond since launching in 2018.
GemFair aims to support the formalisation of the artisanal sector by raising standards, offering fair value, supporting traceability and identifying a secure route to market for responsibly sourced diamonds.
Since 2018, the programme has grown from having 14 participating mine sites to more than 400 today, which collectively support more than 6,000 jobs. The expansion in member numbers has also supported volume growth, with the number of diamonds purchased increasing 77 per cent last year and 68 per cent so far this year.
Earlier this year, GemFair purchased its largest ever diamond at 69.3 carats and more than 90 per cent of diamonds by value are registered on the Tracr platform to enable traceability as they travel through the value chain.
While De Beers does not have artisanal diamond mining operations, the sector accounts for around 10 per cent of global diamond supply by value and provides a vital – and often the only – source of livelihood for millions of people in some of the poorest parts of the world.
As an industry leader, De Beers introduced GemFair to help advance the artisanal sector through training on business, mining and environmental standards. GemFair also educates miners on diamond valuation, offers to purchase any diamond offered by a registered mine site for fair value and provides a traceability solution for responsibly sourced artisanal production.
The programme launched in the Kono region of Sierra Leone, where it continues to operate today, due to the enabling environment that has been created for artisanal and small-scale diamond mining as a result of positive reforms following the civil conflict that ended in the country more than two decades ago.
In recent years, GemFair has expanded its model to be more inclusive to miners at earlier stages of their formalisation journey and to introduce a forward finance programme for miners meeting a higher set of standards, as access to finance on fair terms is one of the key challenges artisanal miners face. GemFair has also introduced a programme to reclaim mine sites once mining has ended to aid in improving safety and environmental management practices within the sector. Since 2020, GemFair has reclaimed 12 formerly abandoned mine pits and, working with local communities, is transitioning them to productive agricultural use to create a new source of income and food security for those communities.
Feriel Zerouki, Senior Vice President of Provenance, Ethics & Industry Relations at De Beers Group, said: “When we first established GemFair, we had a vision to create a model that could help formalise the artisanal small-scale mining sector while supporting transparency and responsible sourcing. We’ve learnt a lot over the past six years and have continued to evolve GemFair to maximise its impact for as many miners as possible. However, the most rewarding aspect has been the trust that has been built with GemFair – the confidence miners have in the programme and their eagerness to work alongside our team as they see the benefit in participating. I look forward to the next chapter in GemFair’s journey as we identify further opportunities to bring these beautiful diamonds with an equally beautiful story to consumers around the world.”
About De Beers Group
Established in 1888, De Beers Group is the world’s leading diamond company with expertise in the exploration, mining, marketing and retailing of diamonds. Together with its joint venture partners, De Beers Group employs more than 20,000 people across the diamond pipeline and is the world’s largest diamond producer by value, with diamond mining operations in Botswana, Canada, Namibia and South Africa. Innovation sits at the heart of De Beers Group’s strategy as it develops a portfolio of offers that span the diamond value chain, including its jewellery houses, De Beers Jewellers and Forevermark, and other pioneering solutions such as diamond sourcing and traceability initiatives Tracr and GemFair. De Beers Group also provides leading services and technology to the diamond industry in the form of education and laboratory services via De Beers Institute of Diamonds and a wide range of diamond sorting, detection and classification technology systems via De Beers Group Ignite. De Beers Group is committed to ‘Building Forever,’ a holistic and integrated approach for creating a better future – where safety, human rights and ethical integrity continue to be paramount; where communities thrive and the environment is protected; and where there are equal opportunities for all. De Beers Group is a member of the Anglo American plc group. For further information, visit www.debeersgroup.com.
