The Social, Economical, and Environmental Impacts of Diamond Mining in Africa

The diamond industry impacts the people of West Africa by creating a whirlwind of corruption on a political level. In sierra Leone diamonds were a valuable part of the land and they were once legitimately sold up until Sierra Leone became independent in 1961. The following years of their independence corruption flooded the land. According to an online research paper it says “with that independence came corrupt leaders, manipulation of the people , rebel groups, rivalries and civil disputes”. The correlation implies that the diamond industry has created an environment that leaves people at risk of violence, and unfair treatment by their government. The longer the diamond industry is in effect, the longer West African people will suffer from the world market demanding diamonds. Because of globalization it doesn’t look

     In Southern Africa, there were mineral discoveries in the 1860, 70, and 80’s. These discoveries had an enormous impact on Southern Africa. These discoveries lead to a “rush” of many fortune hunters and the establishment of the town of Kimberly, which grew quickly and soon became the largest urban society in the interior of Southern Africa. Soon the diamond industry was controlled by one monopolistic company. This was one negative effect of imperialism in Africa.

We see clearly in the movie how the factors of production is used: land, labour, and entrepreneurship. Land is the resource where diamonds are found, and in Blood Diamond we see how the RUF uses a form of alluvial mining and open pit mining on the land. The men would find the diamonds by digging and shoveling in rocks that are eroded by rivers and streams. The result of this is disastrous to the land because of the enormous amount of soil that is removed to obtain the diamond. Also wasted rocks from the mining can leak harmful substances back into the water. Blood Diamond did an admirable job at depicting the realities of how

In one online article, the author quotes a man that was a part of the mining in Congo, and shows how the trade of conflict minerals across the world is funding a war. He says that more

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.

First the workers in the diamond trade have horrible working conditions like little pay and no protection from weak or unstable mines. Rebellious military groups have forced people to work and have also murdered, tortured, and done various other crimes to the workers (pg 6-8 Forman). They also have to live with little pay, leaving them with little

In Ghana, for example, Illegal mining is more prevalent and has been a major contributor to these primary crimes especially for the widespread destruction of arable land. The country is rich in gold and in turn shows the foundations of environmental crime as being the cause of ‘greed and ignorance’ (Grabosky 2003:237). In according to Ghana National Commission for UNESCO statistics (2013, cited in Dwumor and Arko, 2013) the mining industry offers employment opportunities, estimating that it employs over 500,000 Ghanaians making it unfortunately too widespread to tackle. On a global scale, the issue of illegal mining tends to relate directly to safety. In fact, it is observed by Pyatt et al. (2000) the environmental impact of illegal mining boils down to the lack of knowledge of the risks associated with mining.

The film marker is trying to raise awareness of the illicit conflict diamond trade and reinforcing the Kimberley process1 and showing how it will stem the flow of conflict diamonds. This is successful mainly due to the public outburst after the movie. The great impact of the movie has caused diamond

The mining industry in developing nations often lacks the enforcement of ethical principles, laws and regulations. I therefore believe developing nations are better off without large mining companies operating within them. Mining majors can use force to get there way and this often includes political involvement and corruption. Mining companies often overlook the artisanal miners, that use the mine as their lone source of income, and move them out from the mines. The impact on locals is not usually not taken into account when a new mine is set up. Mining companies often disregard the citizenship, fairness and dignity principles of the Global Business Standards Codex to improve profits.

A meeting of Southern African diamond-producing states was held in Kimberley in May 2000 to discuss issues presented by conflict diamonds. This

In the modern diamond market, there is a plethora of minerals waiting to be mined. Within Africa’s southern region, Zimbabwe has found diamonds to be a vital commodity in sustaining the country. In order to reach these minerals, mining companies must find a steady supply of labor to mine and sort the diamonds before they are later “sold rough” in wholesale to dealers, distributed to be cut, polished, and turned into jewelry at manufacturing plants, and marketed by retailers to finally be sold to customers. (Levin, 2014, p.24). Zimbabwe’s main mine is Marange Field, a mine run by the government that handles unofficial “conflict diamonds” – diamonds used to finance rebellious wars. (Nicholas, 2012, p.650) Although technically “conflict free” under the Kimberly Process, Zimbabwe over the past 15 years has continued to commit human rights abuses. Allowed by Zimbabwe’s government influence and the high supply of desperate families living in poverty available to mine for the precious gems, a thriving international industry emerged. This control of desperation allows producers of Marange Fields to use forced labor within the supply chain. (Baker, 2015, p. 65)

Diamond mining in South Africa is the main force behind the country’s economy but this has not always been the case. South Africa’s large diamond mining industry started with the discovery of a large diamond on 1886 by a young shepherd named Erasmus Jacobs. The discovery brought in many miners from different parts of the world to South Africa and this lead to the discovery of a bigger diamond in 1871. This created a diamond rush in

Few industries affect the social, economic and environmental sectors to the extent that the mining industry does. As minerals development expanded, so the international awareness of its impacts grew. Mining-related legislation, both internationally and nationally, has evolved significantly in the past two decades, actively aimed at ensuring Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), where companies are held accountable for their actions.In developing countries like South Africa and Ghana that are heavily dependent on gold trade and the associated international investment, the

The emergence of the term SLO can be traced back to the mining sector in the 1990’s and arose primarily as a result of the public concerns about the negative social and environmental impacts of mining projects (Boutilier, 2014). Boutilier (2014) attributed the coining of the term to James Cooney, Vice President of the now defunct Vancouver-based gold mining company Placer Dome Inc. (p. 263). According to Boutilier, Cooney is said to have used the term to refer to the risks associated with community resistance to mining projects (p. 263). Other contributing factors to the development of the SLO approach include: the emerging corporate social responsibility (CSR) and sustainability paradigms (Hall & Jeanneret, 2015, p. 214); a shift in governance towards a civil society perspective; growing public desire to be more involved in the decision-making process and get their “fair share” of benefits and adequate assurance that operations will be managed safely and responsibly (Prno & Slocombe 2014 p. 672). According to the literature, these shifts are reframing the dynamics between corporations and its stakeholders at the local, national and global level, particularly in the extractive sectors.

3. Description of the IMF Project to Help Africa Crack Down on Illicit Diamond Trade