Development Diamonds

Jul 11, 2014 | Rapaport
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The diamond industry needs to support programs to uplift its vast artisanal mining sector. The more than 1.5 million diamond diggers – predominantly in West Africa – and their estimated 10 million dependents, remain the most vulnerable population in the diamond supply chain. The industry’s apparent lack of awareness of this sector exposes its own vulnerabilities.

The Diamond Development Initiative (DDI) is an organization dedicated to addressing the challenges facing the informal artisanal diamond mining sector. The recent appeal to the industry for financial support by Rory More O’Ferrall, honorary vice chairman of DDI, made at the World Diamond Congress (WDC) in Antwerp should not go unnoticed.