What You Need to Know About Australian, Russian & Canadian Diamonds:

During the past few years, the Canadian diamond industry has branded itself as a perfect “guilt-free choice”. However, there are no clean diamonds. Exploring for them, digging them out of the ground and selling them requires sacrifices from the natural environment, from the wildlife and fish that live on it and from the Aboriginal people who depend on it.

We want to ensure that the public understands that Canada’s Aboriginal communities are engaged in a daily power struggle to ensure that the mines benefit their people and to ensure that these mines do not irreversibly damage the intricate web of life on which we all depend.

 

Did you know?

• A “Canadian” diamond does not mean a “conflict free” diamond. Click here for more information about Canadian Diamonds.
• No diamond that comes from Canada can legitimately be called “conflict free” unless you discount the damage that conflict mining has caused to the environment and the Native communities whom live with it. www.fairjewelry.org

• Canadian mines are often built in environmentally fragile ecosystems, have significant ecological footprints, and will significantly impact upon the caribou, wolverine, bears, ptarmigan and fish which provide food for Aboriginal peoples.
• The highest standard for “conflict-free” diamonds is the Certification by the Government of the Northwest Territories. Canadian diamonds sold outside of this certification should NOT be considered conflict-free.
• It's yet another clever marketing campaign set forth by the diamond industry to make us believe that all diamonds from Canada are conflict-free. With the exposure of African diamonds in the movie "Blood Diamond", Canadian Diamond Producers saw their marketing opportunity.
• The Canada diamond industry is controlled by the biggest transnational mining companies in the world: BHP-Billiton, Rio Tinto and De Beers. These companies own many diamond mines all over the world, some in Africa (where most diamond mining involves human rights abuse) as well as Canada, for example Rio Tinto Group, owns Argyle Diamond Mine in Australia, the Diavik Diamond Mine in Canada and the Murowa Diamond Mine in Zimbabwe.

• The federal, provincial and territorial regulatory frameworks in Canada are inadequate to protect the environment from long term and cumulative environmental effects

• The largest diamond mine in eastern Siberia (Mirny, to be exact) Russia is so deep that the surrounding "air zone... is closed for helicopters" after "a few accidents when they were 'sucked in' by downward airflow...". In essence it has created its own atmosphere.
• The above is true for Australian and Russian Diamonds.