Sparta Mines, Kenya.
Positive Impact.
This is a case study to help artisanal miners formalise their trade and provide transparency and validation to the end buyer. In collaboration with She’s Lost Control, Crystal Clear is supporting Sparta Mines, a group of men mining in Tharaka Nithi County, Eastern Kenya. They discovered the aquamarine deposit on their ancestral farmlands in the village which gave them an opportunity for an alternative source of income, which is a familiar story for many artisanal mining communities. Together with other youths from the area, they started digging for the aquamarines and selling them rough. One of the young men, Allan, got interested on how they could add value to the stones and went to Tanzania to train on polishing, cutting and jewellery making. He started cutting and polishing some of the stones and making basic silver jewelry establishing Sparta Jewellery.
The main challenge with this mine is that it’s completely artisanal. All the work is done manually by hand. They have not obtained the rightful licenses from the Government to formalise or scale up their operations. The Mining ACT, Kenya of 2016 officially recognises Artisanal miners and legalises their activities by issuing them with mining permits. Despite this progressive step by the Government, roll out and implementation of issuing permits has been very slow. Hence, the Government allows ASM to operate currently without permits and doesn't criminalise their extraction as long as they are not infringing on peoples land or damaging the environment.
Once the Government rolls out the program to issue permits, Sparta mines will need to conduct an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), and apply and pay for their permit. This process will cost these young men around USD 1,000 which they can barely afford.
Crystal Clear has funded a CRAFT Code due diligence report at the mine to identify challenges and next steps in order to support the community in formalising their trade. This is where Crystal Clear really strives to be transparent and honest, working with communities to formalise, regulate and validate trade. We are not here to seek out ethical statements and walk away when this can’t be achieved. The only way we can change attitudes and practices in the gemstone industry is if we help these ASM communities achieve their goals, and thus move towards validating ethical statements.
We have provided the community with a route to market by purchasing the rough aquamarine and selling on to retailer She’s Lost Control (all recorded on Provenance Blockchain technology). In addition, She’s Lost Control will be donating £1 from each piece sold to help Alan and Sparta pay for their permit.
To purchase these stones head to She’s Lost Control.
Sell it.
It all begins with an idea. Maybe you want to launch a business. Maybe you want to turn a hobby into something more. Or maybe you have a creative project to share with the world. Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.
Style it.
It all begins with an idea. Maybe you want to launch a business. Maybe you want to turn a hobby into something more. Or maybe you have a creative project to share with the world. Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.