Resources
Africa: Diamonds
■ Kimberley process: Nicol Degli Innocenti considers efforts to curb illegal trade.
■ Jewellery: Claire Adler finds diamonds these days have mass market appeal.
■ Sierra Leone & Liberia: Dino Mahtani looks at the countries in which diamonds have fuelled bloody civil war.
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Content
Stage set for competition
De Beers’ hold on the world of diamond mining is about to be challenged, writes Rebecca Bream.
The Kimberley Process: Time to review the monitoring system
Nicol Degli Innocenti finds Africa comes out well in an assessment of measures aimed at curbing illegal trading.
Corporate profile: A focus on stimulating demand
De Beers wants to increase earnings by a ‘totally achievable’ 50 per cent by 2009.
Jewellery: From red carpet to supermarket
Contemporary, fashion-driven designs are appealing to a mass market, writes Claire Adler.
Interview: Fair trade stones with a ‘spiritual sparkle beyond price’
Nicol Degli Innocenti talks to Martin Rapaport, the man on whose reports the trade relies, about his new-found passion.
Sierra Leone: A confusing network of dealers and traders
The problem is that 90 per cent of production originates from hundreds of small sites, writes Dino Mahtani.
Liberia: In need of monitoring and better enforcement
Many of the 100 government inspectors and agents remain poorly paid and badly motivated, writes Dino Mahtani.
Angola: Promising prospects emerge
Prospecting in the country is not for the faint-hearted but foreign companies are investing anyway, writes John Reed.
Democratic Republic of Congo: A problematic destination
The country has huge mineral wealth but only one operating mine, writes Rebecca Bream.
Profile: Patience is rewarded
Petra Diamonds has found an ‘African elephant’ of a mine in Angola.
