Русский
Russia’s Alrosa, the world’s largest diamond producer, is developing a new standard for responsible diamond mining with African partners, according to Natalya Zhulin , the company’s deputy head of international cooperation.
She said “We’re participating in the creation and testing of a new standard for responsible diamond mining together with our African partners. Why is this important? We see many standards aimed at preparing reporting in the area of sustainable development, but from our point of view as practitioners, for us it’s important to have some sort of guide, standard aimed at process regulation. We’re participating in the development of a mechanism that takes into account our industry particulars – large-scale mining, small-scale mining and trading of rough diamonds.”
The moves come as the European Union has placed bans on the use of Russian-mined diamonds, and the so-called ‘blood diamonds’ from where there are conflicts in Africa. However in doing so it has insisted that all diamonds sold on the European markets are certified as non-Russian or selected African in origin, a process that applies to every diamond larger than 0.5 carat and which is extremely difficult to analyze – diamonds are near 100% carbon and have very little identifiable trace elements. As a result, the global diamond industry is undergoing radical changes and moving way from its traditional European trading base.
Zhulin proposed instead that Russian businesses should participate in developing mechanisms for industry self-regulation. “I think every industry has the ability to bring such specific elements that would reflect the particulars of its operating processes. This is important at the international level, because Russian businesses have fairly good experience in the area of sustainable development that they could strengthen with international partners by creating such institutions of inter-sectoral regulation.” She also said that Alrosa plans to adopt a new sustainable development strategy to 2030 before the end of this year.
“We’re also leaving in it all key priorities and goals that touch on the climate and environmental agendas and, of course, the human social agenda that has an impact on the regions.”
Alrosa’s mining operations are located in the Sakha Republic (Yakutia) and Arkhangelsk Region, and include 10 kimberlite pipes and 14 alluvial diamond deposits. Diamonds are now traded on the Vladivostok Diamond Exchange in the Russian Far East, with several Asian traders also having a presence in the centre as the global industry shifts East. India is the world’s largest diamond importer.
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