Episode 36: Two Facets of Diamonds
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Description
Diamonds have long captured the imagination and interest of people across the globe. Each stone has a unique story to tell, and those stories are only becoming deeper and more fascinating with the latest advancements in geoscience, social science and consumer activism.   This week’s episode looks at two different facets of diamonds.  Evan Smith is a Senior Research Scientist at the Gemological Institute of America. He introduces us to superdeep diamonds, a small subset of diamonds produced globally that have both exceptional monetary and scientific value, especially when it comes to learning about processes that operate deep inside Earth’s mantle.  Gemological Institute of America About 2 million women and men globally are involved directly in mining for diamonds, primarily at artisanal and small-scale (ASM) operations. Cristina Villegas is Director of Sustainable Markets at Pact, a Washington D.C. based NGO. She sets out how ASM today contrasts with the often-tainted picture from popular fiction and discusses recent innovations involving the ASM and big-business community that are bringing life-changing, positive transformations millions of diamond miners around the world. Pact - Artisanal and Small-Scale Mining  Theme music is Confluence by Eastwinds eastwindsmusic.com SEG 2023, the Society of Economic Geologists flagship conference is August 26-29th, 2023 in London England.  The conference will address the major challenges presented by the accelerated consumption of energy transition and other strategic metals.  The context is global, but with a spotlight on Europe.   Early registration ends June 30th.  See you there!!   
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