Mmegi

Nature vs nurture: The battle for the soul of the diamond

Ever shining: Lucara's Karowe Mine regularly unveils major finds PIC: LUCARACORP.COM
Ever shining: Lucara's Karowe Mine regularly unveils major finds PIC: LUCARACORP.COM

One early winter evening in Botswana, a young miner listened as his manager explained that production at the nearby Jwaneng pit would be scaled back for the first time in decades. Simultaneously, on the other side of the globe, a couple in Denver was debating whether to choose an engagement ring set with a natural stone or a synthetic one.

These seemingly unrelated conversations capture the tension defining the diamond industry today, as an ancestral trade built on rarity and romance faces off against an avalanche of easily affordable, laboratory‑grown diamonds (LGDs). The stakes are high, especially in the countries that are reliant on the revenues provided by their natural diamond resources.

A shock to the system

Editor's Comment
Child protection needs more than prevailing laws

The rise in defilement and missing persons cases, particularly over the recent festive period, points not merely to a failure of policing, but to a profound and widespread societal crisis. Whilst the Police chief’s plea is rightly directed at parents, the root of this emergency runs deeper, demanding a collective response from every corner of our community. Marathe’s observations paint a picture of neglect with children left alone for...

Have a Story? Send Us a tip
arrow up