News Archive: April 2005
UN concern over Liberia diamonds April 29, 2005
UN concern over Liberia diamonds
By Mark Doyle
BBC News, Monrovia
There has been a big recent increase in mining for diamonds in Liberia which could be exported illegally, United Nations officials have told the BBC.
Although exploring for diamonds is not illegal in Liberia, UN sanctions ban their export because of fears that revenue could be used to buy weapons.
Liberia recently emerged from a brutal war and now has the largest UN peacekeeping force in the world.
A UN investigator estimates diamonds worth $400,000 are found each month.
I flew at a height of about 60 metres (200 feet), almost brushing the top of the jungle canopy, in search of diamond mines.
The UN investigator I flew with, Caspar Fithen, identified several active mines.
Expensive equipment
Some were small-scale, not much more than holes by the sides of rivers.
But other mines were much larger operations.
At these, we saw mining pits, mechanical diggers and dozens of miners.
Some of the miners tried to hide when they saw the white UN plane we were in; others looked unconcerned.
For legal reasons, I cannot say exactly where these large-scale diggings were.
Mr Fithen concluded from the aerial survey that more mining activity was taking place in Liberia than during his last over-flight three months ago.
Although it is almost impossible to say how many diamonds may be being exported from Liberia, industry sources say it is most unlikely that mining companies would invest in expensive mines unless they intended to sell the stones.
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/world/africa/4496909.stm
Published: 2005/04/29 10:03:01 GMT
© BBC MMV
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Museum prepares for the biggest-ever exhibition of Diamonds April 28, 2005
Museum prepares for the biggest-ever exhibition of Diamonds
The Natural History Museum is preparing for the arrival of the world's largest-ever gathering of spectacular diamonds.
Opening on 8 July 2005, the Diamonds exhibition is your once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see an astonishing array of important diamonds.
‘The sheer size and diversity of the collection of diamonds we're assembling will make this an awe-inspiring exhibition,’ says Dr Michael Dixon, Director of the Natural History Museum.
‘This exhibition will bring together many of the most impressive single stones in the world, and link them with fascinating science and insights into the diamond industry to tell the story of diamonds' journey from deep in the earth to the red carpet.’
Stellar line-up
For every 10,000 white diamonds only one coloured diamond is mined. Coloured diamonds, known as fancy diamonds, are the most valuable gemstones in the world. The exhibition's stellar line-up includes:
The Incomparable: At a staggering 407.48 carats, this yellow stone is the third-largest diamond ever cut.
The Steinmetz Pink: The world's largest fancy vivid pink, flawless diamond. It took Steinmetz almost two years to cut this magnificent 59.60-carat oval-shaped diamond. It was first worn by supermodel Helena Christensen in May 2003.
The Pumpkin: An intense vivid orange 5.54-carat diamond worn in a ring by Halle Berry at the 2002 Oscars.
The Heart of Eternity: Graded as a fancy vivid blue, at 27.64 carats this heart-shaped diamond is one of the finest blue diamonds in the world.
How diamonds are formed
Each diamond is unique and some are older than the stars. This exhibition reveals diamonds as one of nature's great miracles.
Diamonds are formed of carbon that has been exposed to extreme pressure and temperatures over billions of years.
Hidden deep within the Earth's crust, diamonds reveal themselves to us only after volcanic eruptions push molten rock to the earth's surface. Only a small number of diamonds survive this remarkable journey, and just a tiny proportion of these are of a size and quality that makes them suitable for cutting, polishing and setting into jewellery.
Diamonds opens on 8 July 2005 and closes on 26 February 2006.
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Diamond land claim in SA court April 25, 2005
Diamond land claim in SA court
A community in South Africa's Northern Cape Province has gone to court seeking 2.5bn rand ($400m) in compensation for diamond-rich land seized in the 1920s.
The claim includes R1.5bn ($250m) for diamonds that the state-owned company Alexkor mined in and around the town of Alexander Bay in the Richtersveld area.
The inhabitants were evicted from their land by the white minority government.
Since the end of apartheid, communities have been allowed to claim for lost land but progress has been slow.
The 5,000-strong community launched their claim in 1998.
"We eagerly hope that at last we will have an outcome - for us victory is in sight," community representative Floors Strauss told the South African Press Association (Sapa).
Compensation certain
South Africa's Constitutional Court ruled in 2003 that the community was entitled to restitution and to mineral rights.
Sapa reports that the court will therefore be ruling on the parameters of the claim, rather than whether there will be compensation.
The Richtersveld is a desert region, with diamonds the only source of natural wealth.
The lack of other economic opportunities makes the claim a particularly urgent one for the impoverished community.
Land reform legislation introduced since the end of apartheid in South Africa has opened up the possibility of compensation for communities dispossessed of land since 1913.
However bureaucratic and legal delays have meant that only a handful of claims have been processed in the decade since the new laws came into effect.
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/world/africa/4482165.stm
Published: 2005/04/25 13:57:03 GMT
© BBC MMV
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