“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”
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.