News

Keeping with Competition, Large-Diamond Producer Lucara Buys a Blockchain

Adam James · @Shasdam | Feb 27, 2018 | 01:30

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The mining company laying claim to unearthing the largest diamond found in more than a century has hopped on board the blockchain train.

Blockchains Are Forever

According to Bloomberg, Lucara Diamond Corp. has purchased the operator of a digital rough-diamond selling platform, in addition to blockchain technology, in an effort to ensure quality and make the notoriously exploitative supply chain more transparent.

Lucara will pay $29 million in stock to purchase Clara Diamond Solutions Corp — which includes both a blockchain and platform for purchasing rough diamonds.

The company claims it will use the newly-acquired blockchain and platform to sell some of its own diamonds, though plans are in place to expand the platform to third-party producers.

Lucara Diamond Corp. currently runs a single mine in Botswana, which has become well-known for producing large diamonds. The company found a 1,109-carat stone in 2016, the largest found in more than 100 years.

Solving Another Real-World Problem

Lucara Diamond Corp. is not the first diamond company to turn to blockchain technology in an effort to combat the industry’s notoriously dirty dealings.

Larger companies like De Beers and Russia’s Alrosa PJSC are also looking to incorporate blockchain technology, with the former explaining last month that a virtual ledger is crucial in proving to buyers that the diamonds are, in fact, genuine and aren’t being used to fund armed conflict in notoriously unstable and impoverished regions.

Like Lucara, De Beers also plans on making its blockchain platform available to others. Said De Beers’ CEO Bruce Cleaver:

It’s a huge public ledger as immutable as anything invented. It’s a much more un-hackable system than anything on a single server.

Putting diamonds on the blockchain also helps keep banks in the clear, helping them avoid cases of fraud.

Diamonds aren’t the only precious stones which could be put onto the blockchain, of course. The emerging technology can also be used for other precious stones and minerals, significantly cutting down on the sale of illegal stones. More importantly, the blockchain can help cut down on the severe human rights abuses which have plagued the industry for decades.

Are you interested in being able to track your diamonds on the blockchain? Do you think blockchain technology can help cut down on human rights abuses in the diamond mining industry? Let us know in the comments below!

Images courtesy of AdobeStock and Bitcoinist archives.