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The problems of geoenvironmental consequences of mining operations are especially acute in the arctic and subarctic regions, where the spread of permafrost significantly reduces the buffering capacity of landscapes. The article presents data on the content of heavy metals in the soil cover of the transient zone between the middle taiga and north taiga landscapes of Western Yakutia under the conditions of mining operations and assesses the resistance of different types of soils to heavy metals pollution. Field and laboratory works were carried out in August 2022. The heavy metals content was determined by atomic absorption spectrometry. Specialized software was used for analysis, such as MS Excel 2013, Statistica 12.0, and QGis 3.26.1. Calculation of organic forms of heavy metals in soil solutions was performed using the NICA-Donnan model. In the course of studies, the structure of the soil cover in the Nakyn kimberlite field in the conditions of the mining industrial complex operation was determined and a sketch map of the soil cover of the territory was compiled. The geochemical series of the studied heavy metals is as follows according to the degree of concentration of heavy metals in cryolithic soils: Pb > Zn > Ni > Cu > Cd > As > Hg. Positive correlations between humus and Cd, Pb, Zn, as well as the occurrence of synergism in the Pb–Cd, Zn–Pb, Zn–Cu pairs were revealed. The soils organic matter enhances migration of heavy metals. The man-made input of Ni and Zn in cryolithic soils will lead to increase of mobile fraction. Cd is more mobile in pale-yellow carbonate and cryogenic soils. The regional background level of heavy metals for these types of soils was calculated, which can be used in future works when the intensity of mining operations increases.

This study delves into the intricate social dynamics of South Kalimantan’s traditional diamond mines, revealing a potential for conflict amidst the promise of economic uplift. South Kalimantan is one of the provinces in Indonesia, known nationwide for its diamond production. Going beyond conventional economic and environmental perspectives, the research employs Galtung’s Conflict Theory, examining the interplay of attitudes, behaviours, norms, values, and political influences. By adopting this nuanced approach, the study unveils hidden fault lines within these communities, providing a comprehensive understanding of how diverse factors converge to create discord. The consequences of unaddressed conflict include shattered livelihoods, environmental degradation, and fractured communities. The study employs rigorous quantitative methods to empower stakeholders in proactive conflict management, including questionnaires and Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) with data from 400 respondents. The findings underscore the significant roles of behaviours, attitudes, norms, and politics in fueling tension, with values demonstrating surprisingly less direct influence. This insight is a roadmap for conflict prevention and sustainable development, allowing stakeholders to tailor interventions based on specific conflict-driving factors. The study urges a shift from reactive to proactive measures, envisioning a future where prosperity continues and communities thrive in harmony, free from conflict.

Mining diamond poses significant and potentially underestimated risks to the environment worldwide. Here, we propose a Diamond Environmental Impacts Estimation (DEIE) model to forecast the environmental indicators, including greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, mineral waste, and water usage of the diamond industry from 2030 to 2100 in the top diamond production countries under different Shared Socio-economic Pathways (SSPs). The DEIE projection results indicate that the annual GHG emissions, mineral waste, and water usage of the global diamond industry will reach 9.65 Mt, 422.80 Mt, and 78.68 million m3 under the SSP1-1.9 scenario, and 13.26 Mt, 582.84 Mt, and 107.95 million m3 under the SSP2-2.6 scenario in 2100, respectively. We analyze the environmental impact heterogeneities and the associated driving factors across the major diamond production countries identified by our DEIE framework. In addition, we find that lab-grown diamonds can reduce annual GHG emissions, mineral waste, and water usage by 9.58 Mt, 421.06 Mt, and 66.70 million m3 in 2100. The lab-grown diamond substitution policy can annually save 714 million cubic meters of landfill space, harvest 255 million kilograms of rice, feed 436 million people, and lift 1.19 million households out of hunger. The lab-grown diamond substitution policy could contribute to the diamond industry's GHG mitigation and sustainability efforts in a cost-saving manner. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article focuses on the moral contestations of the people of Chiadzwa (eastern Zimbabwe) against their displacement from the area's communal lands and resettlement to Arda Transau by the Government of Zimbabwe to pave the way for large-scale diamond mining. We analyse how the villagers view, and react to allegations of diamonds related corruption, looting and state security brutality in the absence of perceived equitable redistribution of diamond proceeds to the people of Chiadzwa, while the state and investors benefit from the diamond extraction. The article is based on qualitative data drawn from in-depth interviews conducted with former Chiadzwa villagers who were relocated to Arda Transau. Employing the moral economy concept, we argue that the autochthonous claims to land and natural resources play a central role in peoples' contestations against the state and (external) market actors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article offers information on recent findings related to Liberian rubies. Topics include the gemological characteristics of the rubies collected from Weasua, Liberia, the testing and identification processes conducted by GIA's Tokyo laboratory, and the internal features and inclusions observed within the rubies.

Phlogopite is a crucial indicator for effectively constraining the magmatic evolution and emplacement mechanism of kimberlite. In this study, samples were collected from the No. 110 kimberlite pipe within diamond belt I and the No. 50 kimberlite pipe within diamond belt II in the southern Liaoning diamond mining area in the eastern North China Craton (NCC). Zonation is highly developed in the phlogopite; the major and trace element compositions of the phlogopite zonation in the samples were analyzed. In this study, phlogopite from the No. 50 pipe kimberlite (#50 phlogopite) zonation is divided into the following components: (1) The cores, low Ti-Cr xenocryst, average Mg# = 90.6, has a resorption structure, the presence of serpentine and talc minerals in low Ti-Cr cores (xenocrysts) can be used as evidence for hydrothermal metasomatism; (2) cores/inner rims (between core and outer rim), high Ti-Cr, it is thought to be related to the assimilation of mantle materials by deep kimberlite magma, average Mg# = 88.2; (3) outer rims, low-Cr/Cr-poor, average Mg# = 82.4, Fe, Al and Ba contents increased, and there was a trend of evolution to biotite composition believed to be related to the metasomatic metamorphism of melt and wall rock during the late magmatic evolution or ascent; (4) rinds, it is characterized by re-enrichment of Mg, rind I (low-Ti-Cr, average Mg# = 88.4), rind II (high-Ti-Cr, Mg# = 88.6), rind II may be formed earlier than rind I. Rind is very rare and has been reported for the first time in southern Liaoning kimberlite. This study was only accidentally found in the outermost part of #50 phlogopite, the Mg-rich feature represents an environment in which oxygen fugacity has increased. The phlogopite in samples from pipe No. 110 (#110 phlogopite) exhibits relatively homogeneous characteristics across different zones and is more enriched in Al and Ba, which is likely the result of mantle metasomatism. Due to its euhedral characteristics and limited composition variation, it is considered that #110 phlogopite is more likely to be derived from direct crystallization from magma than from xenocrysts. In addition, based on the simultaneous enrichment of Al and Fe in phlogopite from the core to the outer rim, pipe No. 50 was determined to be a micaceous kimberlite, while pipe No. 110 more closely resembles group I kimberlites. This paper proposes that successive pulses of kimberlite magma emplacement gradually metasomatized the conduit, and subsequent kimberlite magma ascended along the metasomatized conduit, thereby minimizing the interaction between the later magma and the surrounding mantle lithosphere. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The continental lithospheric mantle (CLM) beneath the southern margin of the Congo craton has remained elusive, mainly because of the thick Phanerozoic sedimentary cover concealing possible kimberlite and lamproite diatremes. In this study, we explore this lithospheric mantle section using major and trace element compositions of mantle-derived clinopyroxene and garnet xenocrysts from kimberlites of the ca. 84 Ma Nxau Nxau cluster in northwest (NW) Botswana, which is part of the poorly known Xaudum kimberlite province extending into northern Namibia. We utilize these data to better understand the thermal and compositional evolution of the lithospheric mantle at the southern margin of the Congo craton. The clinopyroxene population (83 individual grains) comprises Cr-rich and Cr-poor diopsides with variable major (Al2O3, Na2O, Mg#) and incompatible trace element (U, Th, Zr, Hf, Nb, Ta, REEs) compositions. The large garnet population studied (496 individual grains) is dominated by lherzolitic G9 (38%) and 'megacrystic' G1 (41%) compositions, with minor contributions from Ti-metasomatized G11 (7%) and eclogitic G3 (6%) cratonic mantle sources. Harzburgitic G10 garnet is very rare (two grains only), consistent with a lherzolite-dominated CLM section in a craton margin position. The eclogitic garnet population has compositions similar to garnet from high-Mg cratonic mantle eclogite xenoliths, and such compositions have recently been interpreted as metasomatic in origin within the mantle xenoliths literature. Pressure–temperature calculations using the single-grain clinopyroxene technique reveal a relatively cold cratonic geotherm of 37–38 mW/m2 for the study region during the Late Mesozoic. For peridotitic garnets, projections of calculated Ni-in-garnet temperatures onto the independently constrained regional conductive geotherm suggest that lherzolite dominates at <145 km depth, whereas high-Ti lherzolitic G11 garnets and 'megacrystic' G1 garnets originate mostly from greater depths, reaching down to the lithosphere base at 150 to 210 km depth. The apparent confinement of 'megacrystic' G1 garnet to the bottom of the lithosphere suggests formation from infiltrating asthenosphere-derived proto-kimberlite liquids during melt–rock interactions. In general, the data suggest that the CLM beneath NW Botswana is depleted to about 145 km depth, and between 145 and 210 km depth, a thick metasomatized layer is identified, representing the transition into the underlying asthenosphere. A relatively thin lithosphere beneath NW Botswana is consistent with the proposed craton margin setting, especially when compared with the thicker cratonic roots beneath the central regions of the Congo and Kalahari cratons in Angola and South Africa, respectively, reaching down to 250 km depth and possibly even deeper. The compositional dissimilarity between the deepest-derived garnets from kimberlites in NW Botswana (i.e. from the diamond stability field) and garnets that occur as inclusions in diamond from cratons worldwide suggests extensive overprinting of the lowermost cratonic lithosphere by oxidative melt-related metasomatism. This finding, together with the very low diamond grades of the Xaudum kimberlites, points to a diminished diamond potential of the large and mostly unexposed 'cratonic' region (e.g. covered by thick desert sand) located between the major diamond mining districts of the Congo craton to the north (e.g. Catoca) and the Kalahari craton to the south (e.g. Orapa and Jwaneng). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The benefits of employment in resource extraction figure prominently in state rationales for resource extraction. However, in Canada, the site of study, while the worker is a key figure in rationales for extraction, this same worker disappears in state attention to extractive/mine closure. The paper's focus on Indigenous mining labour is driven by a community–university research partnership with Dene communities in the Northwest Territories facing forthcoming closure of diamond mines on their land. Approaching mine closure as a juncture that can both reproduce or resist the settler extractive economy, we argue that the Canadian state responses to the labour implications of mine closure, and its lack of coherence, express the settler‐colonial tension between the reproduction of the (Canadian) settler state and its requisite labour force, and the social reproduction of Indigenous communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The diamond industry has long been associated with environmental and social problems, ranging from mining practices to ethical concerns related to diamond sourcing. In recent years, there has been a growing interest in lab-grown diamonds as a sustainable alternative for diamond consumers. However, the production of lab-grown diamonds has own challenges. This article examines the capital expenditures per annualized carat of rough diamonds obtained through mining and two fabrication methods: high-pressure high-temperature (HPHT) and microwave plasma-assisted chemical vapour deposition (MP CVD). Lab-grown diamonds produced using HPHT and MP CVD methods require significantly higher capital expenditures per annualized carat compare to mined diamonds. HPHT diamonds require on-time CapEx of 500–833 US$ per carat annually, while MP CVD diamonds demand 549–1648 US$ per carat annually. Finding ways to reduce production cost and increase efficiency will be crucial in realizing the potential of lab-grown diamonds as a sustainable alternative to mined diamonds.

This article, emerging from a community-university research partnership, examines community concerns around diamond mine closure in the Northwest Territories, Canada, and Dene visions of post-extractive futures. The Northwest Territories is a region of the sub-arctic characterized by a political economy that combines settler and Indigenous modes of governance, production, and social reproduction, with an outsized settler engagement in resource extraction. In this article, we turn our attention to the under-examined social processes of mine closure in this region. In taking a feminist political economy approach to mine closure, we attend to the multiple labours of the northern mixed economy. We aim to unsettle the settler preoccupation with the mine itself, and rather, to centre the social reproduction of mining affected communities. Responding to calls for greater attention to the social aspects of mine closure, this paper brings together feminist imaginaries of care and reproduction with place-based insights regarding the gender of settler colonialism and Indigenous women's transgressive caring labours in northern Canada. It draws upon community-based interviews and talking circles, analyzing mine closure as both a site of ongoing settler colonial dispossession and as a space of resistance to ongoing colonialism through the assertion of Dene modes of life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent and dramatic declines of barren-ground caribou (Rangifer tarandus groenlandicus) in northern Canada have been associated with the effects of climate change, natural population fluctuations, and human disturbance. Past research has revealed that caribou were displaced by industrial activities. These broad-scale distributional changes imply fine-scale behavioral and stress responses. In the central Northwest Territories, Canada, diamond mines and their supporting infrastructure, including winter roads, lie across much of the winter range of a number of populations of caribou. We investigated the fine-scale, mechanistic effect of these disturbance features on the behavior and stress physiology of caribou adjacent to an ice road used to transport industrial materials. We modeled the relationship between the prevalence of observed behavioral category as well as glucocorticoids extracted from fecal pellets and a variety of environmental and disturbance variables, including the distance to the ice road. Proximity to the road was associated with a decrease in time spent foraging and an increase in walking behavior. We did not find a relationship between levels of glucocorticoids in fecal pellets and proximity to the road. These results contribute to efforts to understand and manage the effect of industrial disturbance, including ice roads, on barren-ground caribou. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The document provides a list of upcoming learning opportunities in the field of gemmology. It includes conferences, seminars, fairs, and workshops taking place in various locations around the world. The events cover a range of topics related to gemstones, minerals, jewellery, and geological formations. Interested individuals can find more information and register for these events through the provided links. Additionally, there are lectures available on jewellery history and related subjects. [Extracted from the article]

The document provides a list of upcoming learning opportunities in the field of gemmology. It includes conferences, seminars, and workshops taking place in various locations around the world. The events cover a range of topics related to gemstones, jewelry, and earth materials. The document also includes links to websites where more information can be found about each event. [Extracted from the article]

Indonesia has abundant natural resources, including valuable diamonds, greatly impacting its mining industry, economy, and other environmental and societal sectors. This research, conducted in Sungai Tiung Village, Cempaka Sub-district, Banjarbaru City, South Kalimantan Province, Indonesia, explores how the use of natural resources, economic activities, and community resilience are interconnected by examining the enduring traditional mining practices in South Kalimantan, focusing specifically on diamond panning. Using qualitative research methods, this research collected comprehensive data through observations, interviews, and documentation involving key stakeholders such as miners, local communities, and government representatives. The analysis, which incorporates triangulation and expanded observations, reveals three key aspects of traditional mining patterns: the equipment used, the complexities of the work system, and how mining outcomes are shared. The findings highlight the resilience embedded in the traditional mining practices of diamond prospectors in South Kalimantan, showing how these practices influence work methods and reflect traditional community life, characterized by a cooperative and tolerant approach. As a result, this research deepens our understanding of diamond panning. It provides valuable insights into the relationship between traditional practices and the resilience of local communities on a broader scale.

In modern conditions of climate change and increased anthropogenic pressure on aquatic ecosystems, the study of the diversity of organisms in the Arctic has become a top priority. Our study continues a series of studies on the biodiversity of Arctic rivers. Using innovative methods, such as ecological mapping, statistics, and bioindication, we identify environmental factors that influence phytoplankton diversity in the river basin under study. For the Anabar Arctic River, an increase in the diversity of phytoplankton was found to the north towards the mouth of the river, which is associated with an increase in turbidity from industrial discharges. A weak effect of organic pollution and toxic effects associated with existing settlements have been identified, but it has been established that natural processes of self-purification take place in the studied Arctic River. Among 210 species of phytoplankton, an increase in the diversity of chrysophytes in the northern direction was revealed, consistent with the intensification of severe Arctic climatic conditions. Since the study region is characterized by increased diamond mining, we recommend continuing to monitor phytoplankton, track changes in the Anabar River ecosystem, and expand such observations to other Arctic rivers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article tracks the involvement of the Industrial and Commercial Workers' Union (ICU) in the strike on the Lichtenburg diamond diggings of June 1928, during which 35,000 black workers downed tools. At the time, this was the second largest strike by black workers in South African history. This article adds to the literature on the strike in two ways. First, it argues that from mid 1927 (a year before the strike), the ICU began to pay attention to the plight of black workers and location residents on the Lichtenburg diggings and in the adjacent locations. When workers' weekly wages were cut from 20 shillings to 12 shillings in June 1928, the ICU organised workers by picketing and mobilising workers to strike; by holding meetings to discuss their demands; and by negotiating with white diggers and state officials. A second contribution of the article is the argument it makes that recently unemployed workers and persecuted location residents joined the striking workers, broadening the composition of the body of strikers and the scope of the strike. The ICU managed to mobilise these workers and this became a hallmark of their activism in subsequent years. At the end of the strike, an agreement was reached between workers, the state, diggers and the ICU to pay 15 shillings – a less dramatic wage drop than proposed. The ICU's role in the strike was so pronounced that in the months that followed it, the membership of the ICU exploded in towns across the Western Transvaal. This article argues that the strike was an outstanding achievement for the ICU in spite of its organisational decline towards the end of the 1920s. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]