Ian Harebottle: Don’t get me started on NeoColonialism as my blood boils when I think of what we went through in Gemfields trying to acquire an asset in Colombia. In my book, many of the prevailing global systems are designed to do just that – make people feel good about things, while 100% preventing proper development in Countries that are desperate for growth and transformation. But that is another story…..
"More interesting to the readers will be the mining licenses: once a private or public organisation is looking into a new or existing mining license, exploration would have delineated the potential resource (note: I do not say reserve – because reserve means the gems are guaranteed, which is not the case in the coloured gemstone mining industry). The mining department works with the geology department to calculate the desired scale of operations and decide on the best mining method to access and extract the gemstone ore (resource). The size of the resource, coupled to the chosen mining method generates a life-of-mine. Obviously, I am summarising a very complex process." - Says Gessner in his interview with AsiaLounges' A Gem Dealer's Journal
