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My crystal gemstone rocks purchasing practice is becoming more informed re the human ethics of mining. There are conflict crystal & gems & exploited adult & child workers - there is unbalanced economic benefit & lack of regulation industry wide - https://mine.nridigital.com/mine_nov19/the_cost_of_crystal_mining
I have made an effort to purchase rocks and gems with identifiably localized provenance & the rock hounds who dig them up, directly. & finding how to access greatest ethical transparency of mines & worker conditions & environmental respect thru the supply chain
Bc while crystals are no doubt beautiful, I donât feel right thinking of this as a magical connection with the very formation of earth & its elements unless I know it wasnât sourced from an environmentally damaging mining operation by exploited adult or child in a conflict zone
Also it grosses me out to hear ~spiritual crystal types on social media advising ppl to cleanse these crystals ethical murk w ofc white sage or selenite or the moon instead of, yknow, engaging in an actually cleansing process of work for greater ethics of *at least* shopping
Like it will take a lot of advocacy & noise to implement regulatory & accountability practices in this v easy to hide the details kind of shadowy global market. However they did it for diamonds. And the 4 biggest conflict minerals. Not yet colored gems or crystals. Thatâs on us
Iâm not saying donât buy any or feel guilty. Iâm saying, learn more and try to know better and do better and advocate for better. No amount of the moon can cleanse the stench of me spiritually surrounding myself w something other people were brutalized along the way to provide
No moon can cleanse knowing & just shrugging it off. & some gems are much more likely to be unethically mined than others. some big mine regions are almost entirely exploitation or conflict. & Many sites identify active mines for each gem. Be choosy https://www.gemsociety.org/gemstone-encyclopedia/
More info from 2019 @guardian https://www.theguardian.com/global/2019/jun/16/are-crystals-the-new-blood-diamonds-the-truth-about-muky-business-of-healing-stones
Conflict mined jade in Myanmar https://time.com/battling-for-blood-jade/?render=details-v4
Excellent article w actionable information on ethical purchase, research, advocacy & some examples of ethical operations, petitions & industry lobbying by consumers https://www.gaia.com/article/its-time-to-ask-whether-were-buying-ethically-mined-crystals?render=details-v4
Coverage from @newrepublic on #healingcrystals #CrystalHealing #gemstones https://newrepublic.com/article/148190/know-healing-crystals-come-from
âCanada Finland Argentina Botswana Spain and the Philippines have the strongest sustainable mining regulations. Abouzelof suggests looking for crystals from there.â
Also! Find mines you can visit. Local sustainably sourced mines. Herkimer diamonds from NY. Williameite from NJ.
Also! Find mines you can visit. Local sustainably sourced mines. Herkimer diamonds from NY. Williameite from NJ.
Advice on the most fruitful rockhounding and crystal finding spots throughout the United States from @SmithsonianMag https://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/hidden-gems-hunt-treasure-these-geological-sites-180957962/
Great article out of @irishexaminer highlighting the trend in Europe & the news that some of the crystals - including clear quartz and amethyst - are sustainably and ethically sourced by the seller right in Ireland
And from the same article - information about lapis lazuli mined in Afghanistan - the expert says if it has been âmined anytime in the last 40 years it has been extracted illegally and has helped fund armed groupsâ including the Taliban
Another option for sourcing rocks minerals crystals gems 
is secondhand / estate / vintage. The practices of the past werenât always ethical either ofc - but the ethical circulation of existing objects does not support more unregulated consumption & keeps them out of landfills
is secondhand / estate / vintage. The practices of the past werenât always ethical either ofc - but the ethical circulation of existing objects does not support more unregulated consumption & keeps them out of landfills
There are still slippery possibilities for all the links in the ethical chain and they are specific to the gem the region the seller the mining operation etc. itâs a lot but hereâs help from @sustainablegems https://www.sustainablegemstones.org/
Myanmar sourced Amber is rich in dinosaur deposits but problematic due to the conflict nature of its extraction - same as the highly coveted Myanmar conflict jade https://twitter.com/sustainablegems/status/1308381842337341440?s=21 https://twitter.com/sustainablegems/status/1308381842337341440
All lapis lazuli mined in Afghanistan in the past 40 years is conflict mined under conditions of violence and torture and funds terrorism directly. So why do platforms like @Etsy have 1200 listings of lapis lazuli NAMED as afghani provenance like nbd https://twitter.com/bookspajamas/status/1310274949744070658?s=21 https://twitter.com/BooksPajamas/status/1310274949744070658
https://twitter.com/bookspajamas/status/1310957670338310145?s=21 https://twitter.com/BooksPajamas/status/1310957670338310145
Interesting thread about the economy of the Congo and the exploitative nature of mining as a primary predatory industry with no meaningful positive output for the workers or the people https://twitter.com/comparativist/status/1318441021110276100?s=21 https://twitter.com/comparativist/status/1318441021110276100
