Gem traders shackled by travel restrictions have had
to find alternative ways to source and sell supply.
BY DIANA JARRETT
R E P O R T
Artisanal miners
resume work in Sri
Lanka in August.
Opposite: Miners create
elevation with metal
drums in Namibia to
feed the crushers
at the Green Dragon
demantoid mine.
SEPTEMBER
DIAMONDS.NET
SHELTERING
IN PLACE
T
he novel coronavirus has put the brakes on every aspect of
gem trading around the globe, and the limit on international
travel is one of the most notable setbacks. Miners, geologists
and suppliers usually must make their way from remote
mining sites to manufacturers, keeping the flow of goods moving
toward the end user. What are they doing now while this crisis
plays out? And what is life like for them as they shelter in place?
“This virus has changed everything for everybody. So many
local people are suffering — they don’t have options,” says Chris
Johnston, a geologist and miner based in Namibia. The lack of
tourism in particular has impacted his business. “During the
lockdown here in Namibia, we’re quite isolated, and the borders
are closed. I haven’t been chasing after any gemmaterials because
nobody’s buying. We have a
reliance on tourists buying
stones. I have a safe full of cut stones.”
Sri Lanka, too, has been under “a continuous lockdown for
months,” relates Zion da Silva of precious-stone dealer Mount
Zion Gems and Jewellery. “It was very effective in controlling the
pandemic locally. However, mining was instructed to stop, too.”
In Sri Lanka’s case, the full-stopmeasures had a positive outcome.
“Despite these challenges, everything has [gone] back to normal,
with increased mining and higher local demand.”
