After the tailings dam collapse: Community perspectives on compensation and restoration at the Williamson diamond mine, Tanzania
May 6, 2025In November 2022, a major accident occurred at the Williamson diamond mine in Tanzania’s Shinyanga region, when approximately 150 meters of the eastern wall of the mine’s tailings storage facility (TSF) collapsed. This released a large volume of tailings slurry that spread northeast, covering an estimated 5.4 km² in a single day and severely impacting land and water resources in and around the min
Diamonds in the DRC: A sector struggling to shine again
April 23, 2025The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is an important player in the global diamond industry, with considerable untapped potential. This report discusses the current state of play in the DRC’s diamond mining sector, including production trends, key challenges, as well as efforts and opportunities to revive the sector and to increase its impact on local development and socio-economic well-being
Kimberley Process lifts conflict diamonds embargo on the Central African Republic – Q&A
December 4, 2024At its 2024 plenary meeting in Dubai, the Kimberley Process (KP) decided to lift the 11-year-old embargo on rough diamond exports from the Central African Republic. What were the driving factors behind this decision, and what are its implications? In this Q&A, IPIS delves into the background of the embargo, its impact and effectiveness, the rationale for its removal, and the potential consequences
A tale of two diamond certification schemes: the Kimberley Process and the G7’s Russian diamond ban
January 22, 2024The diamond trade is today faced with arguably the biggest crisis since the blood diamond controversy of the late 1990s. Once again this has to do with widespread concern that proceeds from mining and trading this precious symbol of eternal love are being used to finance conflict. This time the source of controversy are Russian diamonds, which represent about one third of the global production, an
G7 targets Russian diamonds – Q&A
October 28, 2023Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which began on February 24, 2022, has led to an unprecedented proliferation of economic sanctions designed to hit Russia’s economy and drain the resources of the Russian war chest. Among these are efforts to ban Russian diamonds from Western markets. Early October, at a meeting in Brussels with Ukraine’s President Zelensky, Belgian Prime Minister de Croo stated that t
From laggard to leader? Zimbabwe’s turbulent diamond history
January 31, 2023This IPIS Insight provides background and context to Zimbabwe’s current Kimberley Process chairmanship, both historically and in light of whether it might present opportunities for government and corporate actors in the country to exorcise their demons.
New project of mapping artisanal and small-scale mining sites in the Central African Republic
May 2, 2019Following a successful training in Bangui with members from civil society organizations and field officers from the Kimberley Process focal point at the Ministry of mines and geology of the Central African Republic (CAR), IPIS will start field based research to map artisanal and small-scale gold and diamond mining sites in Western CAR. This study will focus on quantitative research through Mobile
Bonne gouvernance des ressources naturelles: IPIS / DPDDA Atelier pour la société civile, Bangui
July 18, 2016Du 29 juin au 1er juillet 2016 IPIS a animé un atelier pour 25 organisations locales de la société civile à Bangui (République centrafricaine). (English below) La formation a été co-organisée avec le projet de l’USAID, Droit de propriété et Développement du diamant artisanal (DPDDA II). Les objectifs de cet atelier étaient de sensibiliser et d’améliorer la connaissance de la bonne gouvernance dans
