b'THE STATE OF RETAIL JEWELRYTHE COLOREDTHE DESIGN STONE DIAMOND MARKET INDUSTRY The way they were implemented, or, rather, the delays in their im- Several of his stories have focused on clashes between informal miners plementation, since the settlement was quite disappointing, Renshawand security forces for the mining companies in Montepuez, the disap-said in a recent interview with National Jeweler, though he doesntpointment of local miners who were pushed out as big companies moved blame Gemfields or its subsidiary, Montepuez Ruby Mining, for that.in, and what he sees as the failure of the government to protect the Mo-Its a difficult operating environment where the local authorities ex- zambican people and help them benefit from the countrys resources. pect to have a significant measure of control over things, he says, notingValoi tells National Jeweler via WhatsApp that the situation on some difficulties in compensation distribution to the claimants due tothe ground has improved a little since the settlement but noted that government authorities stopping the firm from liaising with clients orMontepuezs mining area still has issues. preventing support groups on the ground from doing their work.Matsinhe also said Mozambicans continue to be unhappy because Human rights advocate David Matsinhe, Southern Africa researchertheyve lost livelihoods without being able to mine since the big com-at Amnesty International and adjunct professor of African Studies atpanies have moved into the area. Theyve lost access to other natural Carleton University in Canada, noted similar issues, saying govern- resources in the mining area too, such as water and bamboo used to ment officials were accusing the beneficiaries of channeling thebuild houses. money to a recent insurgency and expelled the local company thatThe conversation has since evolved into a much bigger one as the was assisting with distribution of funds.larger Cabo Delgado province, in which Montepuez is situated, has In the time since the lawsuit, Gemfields has implemented a moreseen a violent insurgency by Islamist militants continue to escalate, formal internal process for report-ing incidents, creating preventa-tive systems to ensure everything about the way they handle an The Puerto Arturo gallery at incident or allegation is recorded. the Muzo mine is its oldest and reaches 500 feet underground.More recently, the company helped establish the Gemstones and Jewellery Community Platform from the Coloured Gemstones Working Group, a joint initiative involving industry heavy hitters such as Muzo, Kering, Richemont, and LVMH. The platform offers free re-sources and tools to enable individ-uals and companies to learn more about and implement responsible business practices. This year, Gemfields launched the G-Factor for Natural Re-sources, a measure promoting greater transparency around the level of natural resource wealth shared with the governments of host countries in primary and direct taxes, as well as dividends in countries where the government is a shareholder. Each company engaged in the extraction and sale of natural resourc- pushing many people from their homes and leaving thousands dead.es across any category would calculate the G-Factor on their own. There are broader issues at play hereincluding corruption, The move is an interesting one, as it comes at a time when there ishigh poverty levels, and disputes over access to land and jobs, fueled increased focus on ensuring host countriesand their citizensareby tensions among ethnic groups. But some local news stories and getting as much as they can out of a countrys mineral wealth.reports have indicated they believe resentment and anger over being Mozambique, specifically, has been the topic of many news storiespushed out of mining areas has led some to join the militants, a possi-over the past few years, as local and international journalists ask: Arebility Matsinhe acknowledges as well. the countrys newly discovered rubies really benefiting its citizens?Gemfields Gilbertson, however, says he finds it hard to believe Mozambican investigative journalist Estacio Valoi has reportedpeople are traveling so far from Montepuezits more than 200 extensively on this topic as the ruby mining area changed hands frommiles, at least, to the areas most embattledto take part. localsa local man, in fact, is credited with first finding the stones Both Gemfields and Fura say the insurgency has yet to impact their to large-scale mining.operations in Mozambique, but both are monitoring the situation. 58 STATE OF THE MAJORS 2021'