GemFair to Launch Training Program in West Africa

RAPAPORT... GemFair, De Beers' program for the artisanal sector, has partnered with two organizations on a training project to enhance mining practices in West Africa.It has signed a memorandum of understanding with Germany's Deutsche Gesellschaft f? 1/4 r Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) and the Mano River Union, a cross-border association comprising Sierra Leone, Liberia, Guinea and the Ivory Coast, GemFair said last week. The groups will jointly develop a training program in those four countries, aiming to increase artisanal miners' capacities; promote the sharing of knowledge; and improve understanding of health and safety, environmental management, ethical-sourcing standards and diamond valuation. Participants will include miners, government officials and civil-society activists."GemFair is committed to helping advance the ASM [artisanal and small-scale mining] sector, and one of the critical first steps is to enhance capacities to raise standards across the sector," said Feriel Zerouki, De Beers' senior vice president for international relations and ethical initiatives and general manager of GemFair.De Beers launched GemFair in 2018, pledging to work with artisanal miners to ensure their diamonds were ethically sourced. It will also offer their rough for sale on its auction platform.Image: Artisanal miners in Sierra Leone. (Rapaport News)