Feb 09 2009
Protest action against mining in Bushmen reserve
Opposition against the planned mining of diamonds by Gem Diamonds in an area of Botswana traditionally inhabited by Bushmen is picking up momentum. Also read this article.
Tomorrow (10/2) human rights group Survival International will organise a protest outside Graff Diamonds’ flagship store in London, to get Laurence Graff to rethink his support for the controversial diamond mine. He owns 9% of Gem Diamonds.
To read about other protest actions organised by Survival International in support of the Bushmen, read here.
Tomorrow’s protest action will take place from 4.30 pm to 6 pm at 6-7 New Bond Street, W1S 3SJ in London.
On 31 October last year I reported De Beers had withdrawn from the area in reaction to the international outcry.
Also be sure to read Survival International’s blog posts here and to watch the video.
It’s not going so well with London-listed Gem Diamonds, the company headed by South African businessman Clifford Elphick.
Gem, which listed in February 2007 with a market capitalisation of just less than £600m, had a capitalisation of £138,6m yesterday.
The stock fell 13% on Monday of last week, after the company warned it would post a loss for 2008. A London-based analyst, Brock Salier of Ambrian Partners, subsequently recommended selling the stock, saying the company was hiding the decline in rough prices.
Check out this article on AllAfrica.com.