When we think of conflict minerals or gemstones, certain countries in Africa come to mind. But with the rapid increase in precious metals comes increase risk of conflict at the mines throughout other parts of the world. Just as we celebrate Fair Trade Gold from the small scale miners in Colombia, this article by the

Just last March, we posted about how Tanzania decided to ban the export of rough gemstones to maximize the local benefit related to the gemstone economy. This was bad news for gemstone cutters in India, where much of the rough from Africa is exported, but good news for the local economy in Tanzania. More polishing

In this interview, Tim Ingle, of Ingle & Rhode, a leading UK ethical jeweler, discusses issues related to ethical jewelery with Mike Angenent. Mike is based in Belgium and is very active in the ethical gemstone world, as founder of Open Source Minerals www.opensourceminerals.com and Jewelrytree Foundation www.jeweltreefoundation.org. Mike frequently contributes to FJA with both