Rio Tinto | Minerals and Metals for the world

Of course, there are some utilitarian uses; besides their bewitching brilliance, diamonds are also hard, abrasive and naturally water repellent. Hence diamonds of too poor a quality to be polished into gems are made into drill bits and cutting tools, while other types may be used for specialist purposes such as scalpel blades for eye surgery. But such uses are almost by-products of an industry founded on meeting what are best described as fairly secondary human needs - the desire to express love through the giving and receiving of gifts, the wish to display status through personal decoration, the urge to acquire and store wealth.

"Gem diamonds are not essential to the human race in any utilitarian sense but they serve psychological and social needs. For those who own them they mark many of life's important rites of passage - birthdays, engagements and anniversaries," says Nigel Jones, general manager of marketing for Rio Tinto Diamonds, which currently produces around a quarter of the world's diamonds by volume through Argyle Diamonds in Australia, a position which will be further strengthened when its Canadian Diavik Diamond mine comes into full production this year.

"But because they are for adornment and are not primarily a utility product, there has been a philosophical question mark over diamonds from the perspective of sustainable development. In fact, there is a good story to tell as the whole industry from the miner to the jewellery retailer is becoming more aware of its social obligations and environmental responsibilities."

In a sector as complex as that of the diamond, responsible guardianship is no straightforward task. The industry runs through a convoluted chain known in the business as the diamond pipeline. At the source of the pipeline, exploration and mining, only a handful of players are involved.



Of course, there are some utilitarian uses; besides their bewitching brilliance, diamonds are also hard, abrasive and naturally water repellent. Hence diamonds of too poor a quality to be polished into gems are made into drill bits and cutting tools, while other types may be used for specialist purposes such as scalpel blades for eye surgery. But such uses are almost by-products of an industry founded on meeting what are best described as fairly secondary human needs - the desire to express love through the giving and receiving of gifts, the wish to display status through personal decoration, the urge to acquire and store wealth. "Gem diamonds are not essential to the human race in any utilitarian sense but they serve psychological and social needs. For those who own them they mark many of life's important rites of passage - birthdays, engagements and anniversaries," says Nigel Jones, general manager of marketing for Rio Tinto Diamonds, which currently produces around a quarter of the world's diamonds by volume through Argyle Diamonds in Australia, a position which will be further strengthened when its Canadian Diavik Diamond mine comes into full production this year. "But because they are for adornment and are not primarily a utility product, there has been a philosophical question mark over diamonds from the perspective of sustainable development. In fact, there is a good story to tell as the whole industry from the miner to the jewellery retailer is becoming more aware of its social obligations and environmental responsibilities." In a sector as complex as that of the diamond, responsible guardianship is no straightforward task. The industry runs through a convoluted chain known in the business as the diamond pipeline. At the source of the pipeline, exploration and mining, only a handful of players are involved.
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Review is published by Rio Tinto, 6 St James' Square, London SW1Y 4LD, England Telephone +44 (0)20 7930 2399 Editor: Cherry DeGeer