GEMFAIR NEWS

01

What is GemFair?

GemFair enables the tracing of artisanally produced diamonds from mine to market through specially tailored technological solutions, with miners also benefiting from the support of our expert local team.

GemFair is an inclusive programme that engages with artisanal miners wherever they may be in their journey, whether that be entry-level through to best-in-class. Our thoughtfully designed programme incentivises miners to meet and exceed legal requirements, while also offering training in a range of areas to support continuous improvement in mining and business standards.

02

Our Promise

TRACEABILITY

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Creating a digital record of the diamonds found at participating artisanal mine sites

EMPOWERMENT

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GemFair provides training to miners on safer and more environmentally responsible mining standards. Miners also have access to tutorials prepared by leading diamond experts

FAIR VALUE

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Miners receive fair value for their diamonds

INCLUSION

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Opening our doors to as many artisanal miners as possible, so they can continue their journey to improve mining standards
03

Our 4 Pillars

GemFair’s digital solution is a set of hardware and software that helps GemFair maintain traceability of diamonds from the mine site through to export. The toolkit contains a tablet with GemFair app and diamond evaluation equipment such as diamond scales, hand loupe and ruler. Together it allows miners to log stones on the GemFair platform and learn more about how to evaluate the value of their diamonds. This system also supports GemFair staff to onboard new members, ensuring they have met the requirements required to sell to GemFair and track each mine site’s progress in meeting our standards.

Rough diamond in hand

We have developed standards based on several best practice standards like the Best Practice Principles, OECD Due Diligence Guidance, CRAFT Code, and other leading standards for sourcing from ASM.

Then we field tested the standards on the ground and incorporated aspects that accommodate our unique business model. We don’t just teach miners our standards and then walk away either: when artisanal miners join our programme, they receive ongoing training, mentoring and bespoke capacity development programmes, over the long-term, supporting their journey of continuous improvement.

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De Beers Group set an ambitious sustainability goal to build scalable solutions to support livelihoods of artisanal miners by 2030. GemFair is the vehicle through which we will meet this target. Through our Forward Purchase Agreement and mine site reclamation and farms programmes, we are supporting job creation for artisanal miners and their families.

The Forward Purchase Agreement programme is a project to provide artisanal diamond miners in Kono District with fair access to finance. The project was launched in 2019 and consisted of a mechanism to allow miners participating in the GemFair program to access finance without leading to debt. Under the contract, both the miner and GemFair agree on a workplan and accompanying budget for the season. GemFair in turn provides the capital for that season’s work in exchange for the right to forward purchase the miner’s production from the area funded by the contract.

The goal of the project is to create a win-win solution between the miner and GemFair where the miner receives financing and GemFair can positively influence the improvement of working and business practices of participating miners.