Transforming Artisanal Diamond Mining into a Trusted, Traceable and Ethical Source of Diamonds
GemFair is redefining the diamond industry by combining the skill and heritage of artisanal mining with innovative traceability technology and rigorous ethical standards.
While De Beers does not operate artisanal mines, we recognise that the diamond industry as a whole has a responsibility to support the formalisation of this vital sector — ensuring that miners are protected, empowered, and supported.
Through diamond purchasing partnerships with artisanal miners, GemFair promotes safer mining practices, higher operational standards, and a fair, predictable route-to-market for ethically sourced diamonds, supported by a bespoke digital solution. In doing so, GemFair is transforming not only the way artisanal diamonds are sourced, but also the lives of the people and communities involved.
GemFair sits at the heart of De Beers’ Building Forever framework, creating valuable livelihoods, protecting nature, and delivering greater transparency in the journey of every diamond.
Growing Gemfair
De Beers launched GemFair in 2018 in the Kono region of Sierra Leone, to support the government’s existing efforts in formalising the artisanal sector and create a scalable programme with the potential to expand into other countries.
Today, GemFair continues to grow, with over 500 mine sites participating in the programme, which in turn support approximately 7,000 direct and many more indirect livelihoods.
Since launching, GemFair has purchased more than 20,000 diamonds from participating miners and conducted more than 5,700 compliance visits to participating sites. In 2026, De Beers London launched its first collection that features GemFair diamonds, demonstrating that artisanally mined diamonds can be bought with confidence by consumers.
Building skills, raising standards and offering fair value
The GemFair model aims to drive real meaningful change, and is the first of its kind to provide comprehensive support to artisanal diamond miners. It does this by providing:
- Training and capacity building on mining standards, safety, and diamond valuation
- Personal protective equipment and tools to improve working conditions
- Regular site visits and compliance monitoring by a dedicated local field team
- A fair price for any diamond offered for sale, regardless of size or quality
This approach ensures not only that diamonds are mined responsibly, but that miners benefit directly and consistently from safer working practices and better wages.
For many, the programme has been transformational.
“My membership with GemFair has been the best experience ever… As a father of 15 children, tuition payment has been less challenging compared to time past. GemFair has not only improved my mining methods but also changed my status.”
GemFair artisanal miner
GemFair also provides clear, high assurance standards – covering mining, business and environmental practices – to which the miners must adhere in order to participate in the programme. Performance against these GemFair standards is monitored on a regular basis, with capacity building support provided where needed to ensure that standards are met by all participating mine sites, providing trust in how the diamonds have been sourced.
Restoring landscapes and creating new livelihoods
Beyond mining, GemFair supports communities to convert abandoned mine pits into productive farmland—restoring ecosystems while building new streams of sustainable income.
Through its reclamation and farming programme, miners and local community members receive tools, seeds, and ongoing support to develop small-holder farms and restore native vegetation. This support provides jobs for artisanal miners and local farmers, produces food for the community and helps to bolster environmental practices.
"This land was a mining site, but now it is helping to give us life.”
Chairlady, reclamation site
This integrated approach ensures that the benefits of the programme extend far beyond the mining sites themselves, reaching farmers, families, and entire communities.
Bringing transparency and traceability to artisanal diamonds
GemFair is transforming how artisanally-mined diamonds enter the global supply chain. Using digital tracing tools, rigorous audited standards, and verified data collection at the point of discovery, GemFair ensures each diamond is responsibly recovered and transparently traced from mine site to finished product.
By equipping miners with the technology and training needed to meet these standards, the programme is creating a trusted and traceable supply chain, making artisanal sourcing safer, fairer and more accountable.
A core part of De Beers’ Building Forever commitment
By helping to formalise the sector in a way that benefits miners and their communities, GemFair is shaping a future where artisanal diamond mining can be a more trusted, transparent and ethical source of diamonds — Building Forever.
For more information on GemFair visit: www.gemfair.com