GemFair, a De Beers Group initiative to advance the artisanal and small-scale diamond mining (ASM) sector, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH and the Mano River Union (MRU) to deliver training on mining standards in the MRU member countries of Sierra Leone, Liberia, Guinea and Ivory Coast to enhance practices in the ASM sector.
The three parties will jointly deliver a regional training programme that aims to enhance capacities, promote knowledge sharing and build a comprehensive understanding of mine site health and safety, environmental management, ethical sourcing standards and diamond valuation among participants, who will include miners, government officials and civil society activists in the four countries.
The training will be designed to support implementation of the Regional Approach of the Kimberley Process, enhance knowledge of OECD requirements and introduce safer and more environmentally friendly mining techniques for artisanal miners in the MRU region.
Edward Asscher, President of the World Diamond Council, has expressed the WDC’s strong support for the agreement.
“It is projects like these that demonstrate the capacity of the Kimberley Process and its partners to go beyond the traditional scope of conflict prevention, by also building real grass-roots capacity and economic opportunity in the countries where diamonds are mined,” Mr. Asscher said.
