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JA warns industry about '60 Minutes' segment

November 03, 2009

New York--Jewelers of America (JA) has put the industry on notice about an upcoming special CBS is expected to run on artisanal gold mining in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (eDRC).

According to a letter signed by JA President and Chief Executive Officer Matthew J. Runci and obtained by National Jeweler, the segment is expected to run on CBS' national news program 60 Minutes in the next few weeks, covering the warring factions in the eDRC that are believed to currently control a significant portion of the mining and exportation of gold and other minerals, using the profits to fund their military activities.

JA sent the letter to members of the industry even if they were not JA members.

"This airing, and subsequent media coverage," the letter states, "could have an adverse effect on consumer confidence, especially harmful as we approach the critical holiday selling season."

JA has been interviewed for the segment, as have other industry associations and businesses.

JA believes the piece will show "harrowing" images from the mining sites and contain interviews that'll "attempt to call the integrity of the entire gold jewelry supply chain into question" and will portray the jewelry industry as having failed to acted responsibly in the face of a well-documented, ongoing crisis.

Though GFMS estimates that only 0.2 percent of annual global gold mine production comes from the DRC, the letter states that it won't matter to the consumer if the program successfully links "conflict gold" from the eDRC to the industry's supply chain.

While JA is working closely with organizations such as the World Gold Council and the Responsible Jewellery Council to support good practices at all points along the supply chain, they also are asking members to reach out to their suppliers and ask them to affirm in writing their commitment to responsibly sourced gold and gold jewelry products.

In addition, JA has developed new member guidance materials to help JA members deal with questions on this issue from customers, human rights groups or media.

JA attached the guidance materials to the distributed letter.

"Taking into consideration both the moral and business imperatives, it is abundantly clear that together we must do everything we can to ensure that gold jewelry is not tarnished by violence, and that we preserve the trust customers have in the jewelry industry," the letter states.

JA encourages those with opinions or questions on this issue to contact them at (646) 658-0246 or info@jewelers.org.
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