Where do your precious gems come from?
Introduction
Gemstones are beautiful and valuable, but they don't come cheap- not only do they cost a far bit of your hard earned cash, there is also the cost to the environment and communities.
The process of mining for precious gems can be devastating to the environment, often resulting in deforestation and poisoning of water sources. Although there are efforts to change this trend by adopting more sustainable practices, we need to do a better job of protecting these localities while also boosting human development in areas where gemstone mining takes place.
Mining for precious stones can have a devastating effect on the environment.
You might be surprised to learn that mining for precious stones can have a devastating effect on the environment. To understand why this is, we first need to understand what happens during mining.
“Watch the breakdown”
First, miners remove layers of earth in search of precious stones. This can cause water pollution and soil erosion as many chemicals are used during mining operations. Once they’re done digging up the earth, they transport it via truck or train to another location where the precious stones are extracted from it using various methods (including acid). Since each step in this process involves heavy machinery and transportation over long distances, there’s an increased risk of air pollution as well as noise pollution due to constant vehicle movement on highways or rail lines—and if you think about how much weight these trucks must carry when full then you realize how much damage could be done by accidents along those routes! Mining also requires lots of electricity which means more carbon emissions being released into our atmosphere while simultaneously contributing significantly toward climate change itself—and since we tend not care too much about environmental concerns unless they directly affect us personally (i.e., our health), it makes sense that most people don't consider these factors when buying gems because they don't really think about them until later down the line when things actually start happening around them due to their own actions.
Environmental Issues in Gemstone Mining
It’s a common misconception that all gemstones are mined in exactly the same way. While it is true that some mines use techniques which can be considered environmentally friendly, others do not and are just as problematic as any other area where mining has taken place. There are two main issues with this type of mining: pollution from chemicals and runoff, and habitat destruction.
The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) lists several harmful chemicals used during the process of extracting precious gems, such as cyanide-based leaching agents that may affect aquatic life in nearby streams and rivers; mercury compounds used in separating diamonds from ore; arsenic dust released during the cutting process; acids used on gems like emeralds or rubies; radioactive materials used to detect certain minerals underground (such as uranium). All these toxic substances have been found around or near mining sites both inside mines themselves or when they spill out into surrounding areas through contaminated runoff water systems due to rain or snowmelt runoff events happening after storms hit land areas near where gemstone miners operate their businesses today."
Deforestation
Deforestation is a hot-button issue in the world of precious gems. When forests are cleared to make room for mining, it can lead to soil erosion and flooding. It can also cause the loss of biodiversity and increase desertification. The effects of deforestation go beyond just humans, though: when trees are removed from an area, they’re no longer there to absorb carbon dioxide and release oxygen back into our atmosphere (hence why we need trees).
The United Nations estimates that over 129 million acres of forest has been lost since 1990—an area roughly equal to South Africa. To put this number into perspective, if each person living on planet Earth took one acre away from us every year through deforestation or pollution…you would accumulate enough land mass about twice as big as France by 2023!
Poisonous Chemicals
It's no secret that mining can be a dirty business. This is especially true when it comes to precious gems, where miners use a number of toxic chemicals in their hunt for diamonds, rubies, sapphires and other gems.
Cyanide is used to separate gold from its ore.
Mercury (one of the most poisonous substances on Earth) is used in some types of mining. Mercury vapour can build up in underground mines and poison those who work there by entering their body through respiration and skin contact. The accidents caused by mercury poisoning are called Minamata disease after the city where they occurred in Japan during the 1950s and 1960s. As many as 2,265 people died as a result; another 18,000 were severely injured or suffered permanent disabilities such as paralysis or brain damage (Source: Harada M. Minamata disease: methylmercury poisoning in Japan caused by environmental pollution. Crit Rev Toxicol. 1995;25(1):1-24. doi: 10.3109/10408449509089885. PMID: 7734058.)
Arsenic was once used extensively in gold extraction processes but has been largely phased out due to its toxicity levels - even small amounts can cause lung cancer if inhaled into the lungs over long periods of time! Potassium arsenate was particularly harmful because it caused chronic arsenic poisoning which resulted in serious health problems including mouth ulcers, stomach pains and diarrhoea; neurological symptoms such as paralysis; skin problems like rashes; fever-like symptoms like chills/sweats etc...there are now laws against using arsenic compounds for this purpose - but we still find traces left behind from previous generations' practices.
The Story of Tanzanite
Tanzanite is a rare gemstone that has become increasingly popular in recent decades. It's mined in the foothills of Mount Kilimanjaro, and people who are lucky enough to have access to the stone consider it a symbol of good luck and fortune. The story behind tanzanite begins with Zoisite, a mineral found throughout Tanzania's eastern regions. Zoisite can be found in many different colours, including green, brown, yellow, red and violet blue—which is why it has so many different names. Tanzanite occurs when zoisite undergoes heat treatment and/or forced hydrothermal conditions. After these processes occur over millions of years (yes...millions), blue-violet crystals emerge which we now know as tanzanites
Reducing the Negative Impact of Gemstone Mining
So just how do we reduce the negative impact of gemstone mining?
We will look at some techniques that can be used to increase the positive impact of gemstone mining.
How can you make gemstone mining more sustainable?
How is gemstone mining profitable? And how can gemstone mining become more ethical?
Initiatives to Protect Gemstone Localities and Boost Human Development
To protect gemstone localities and boost human development, initiatives have been launched to ensure that mining practices are not only environmentally friendly but also socially responsible. Some examples include the following:
The Kimberley Process Certification Scheme (KPCS) was set up in 2003 to prevent conflict diamonds from entering the market. It is an international certification system that regulates the diamond trade and aims to stop diamonds used to fund conflicts from being sold as "conflict-free" or "blood diamonds." Some say that there is this process in itself is flawed. The certification’s narrow terms of certification focuses solely on the mining and distribution of conflict diamonds. This means that broader issues around worker exploitation - the health and safety of working conditions, the use of child labour and fair pay – are not addressed. It also fails to deal with entire populations being evicted from their ancestral homes to make way for mining. A second criticism is that a Kimberley Process certificate does not apply to an individual stone but to a batch of rough diamonds which are then cut and shipped around the world. Without a tracking system, this is where the trail ends. (Source: The Kimberley Process, The Guardian. March 2014.)
In 2013, Rio Tinto, a leading global mining corporation, pledged $1 billion over ten years toward improving conditions for artisanal miners in its Congo operations, with a focus on supporting community health and safety programs as well as social responsibility initiatives through product donations or sales. This was only one initiative however and the group have been severely criticised since then for several more of its practices, including environmental and human rights violations by the Australian government who claimed that an abandoned mine leaked waste and poisoning rivers on the island of Bougainville.
Takeaway: We need to do a better job of protecting the environment from destructive gemstone mining practices.
As you can see, there are several ways to go about protecting the environment from mining practices. First, we need to educate people about how damaging this activity can be on a global scale. People need to understand that our natural resources are finite and that they cannot simply be replaced without cost or effort. Then, we should look into alternatives for finding precious gems that don't involve digging up entire mountainsides or destroying delicate ecosystems.
Finally, if all else fails (and it probably will), we might have to accept the fact that some mines just aren't worth opening in order to protect some of our most vulnerable environments from further damage—even if it means losing out on millions of dollars in potential revenue and jobs for local communities.
Conclusion
While the gemstone industry is still in need of improvement, there are three main options for responsibly sourced gemstones. These are:
Gemstones with traceable supply chains illustrated by supplier documentation;
Lab-grown gemstones and;
Recycled or preloved gemstones.
Gemstones have been a part of our lives for thousands of years. They are not only beautiful but also valuable to our economy and culture. We must take care that we do not damage the environment in pursuit of this precious resource, lest we lose it forever.
