b'THE STATE OF RETAIL JEWELRYTHE COLOREDTHE DESIGN STONE DIAMOND MARKET INDUSTRY The La Rampa gallery at the Muzo mine in Colombia is spiral-bored to 1,300 feet underground. It acts as a testing ground for modern mining methods, Muzo says, and is big enough to accommodate large, motorized machinery.While Gemfields did implement some salary cuts, both minerswhere, especially in areas occupied by people, has an obligation were able to forgo any layoffs.under human rights lawto ensure that human rights are protected, Meanwhile, the artisanal mining sector, as most in the industryto ensure that these mechanisms for mitigating, preventing, and know, was one of the hardest hit by the pandemic. Miners were facedproviding remedies in case other violations or abuses occur [because with either not being able to mine or, if they could, not being ableof] its mining operations.to sell their stones. (National Jeweler addressed their struggles inThe United Nations has a set of Guiding Principles on Business its 2020 State of the Majors issue, in a story titled ASM and theand Human Rights that provides a risk management process for COVID-19 Impact.) companies to follow, using four steps: assessing actual and potential There are also the taxes andhuman rights impacts; integrat-duties paid by the large mininging and acting on the findings; companies to local governments,An emerald mined by Muzotracking responses; and commu-the big miners point out.Emerald in Colombianicating about how any adverse With Gemfields, 100 percentimpacts are addressed.of gemstone auction revenues areWhile widely seen as the global paid to the mining company in thestandard for business responsibili-country of originin which thety, the U.N. principles also address host governments are partners the obligations of states to protect to ensure said country receivesagainst human rights abuses within the full value of its stones.their territory and/or jurisdiction Furas Shetty adds that largeby third parties, including business mining companies bring anotherenterprises, and to set out clearly invaluable aspect to the table forthe expectation that all business source countries: branding.When we go and market theenterprises domiciled in their When we go and market theterritory and/or jurisdiction re-Colombian emerald project, weColombian emerald project,spect human rights throughout are branding Colombia. we are branding Colombia. their operations.Dev Shetty, Fura GemsBut, in Matsinhes view, its OBLIGATIONS, LEGAL often up to the companies to OR OTHERWISE make sure the people around Complying with human rights due diligencethem are being treated fairly.seems like it would be the most obvious tenet of social responsibility.They must not wait for these governments to enforce these laws But its not only what mining companies should doits what theybecause that will never happen, he says. Mining companies must are required to do, Amnesty Internationals Matsinhe says.do better than governments, implementing laws and international Every company that seeks to set up a business operation some- standards. 62 STATE OF THE MAJORS 2021'