The Washington Post: A new frontier for diamond mining: The ocean

Jay OwenGlobal Citizen, Sustainability News

“This story on the latest  method of  the appalling wasteful, ecologically-damaging industry of diamond mining, is another example of the reasons to  phase out global gem mining, now that science is creating lab-grown gems in many small businesses that are chemically identical, less ecologically and socially damaging  and more appropriately priced by many retailers, as we cover at www.ethicmarkgems.com.  Our global standard EthicMark®GEMS  certifies only gems not mined from the Earth .          ~Hazel  Henderson, Editor”

 

Deep beneath this frigid stretch of the Atlantic Ocean, some of the world’s most valuable diamonds are scattered like lost change.The discovery of such gems has sparked a revolution in one of the world’s most storied industries, sending mining companies on a race for precious stones buried just under the seafloor.For over a century, open-pit diamond mines have been some of the most valuable real estate on Earth, with small swaths of southern Africa producing billions of dollars of wealth. But those mines are gradually being exhausted. Experts predict that the output of existing onshore mines will decline by around 2 percent annually in coming years. By 2050, production might cease.

Now, some of the first “floating mines” could offer hope for the world’s most mythologized gemstone, and extend a lifeline to countries like Namibia whose economies depend on diamonds. Last year, mining companies extracted $600 million worth of diamonds off the Namibian coast, sucking them up in giant vacuum-like hoses.

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