26Jul Visiting Gem Mines in Sri Lanka
We take our commitment to ethical standards very seriously at Nineteen48 and we do our best to visit our partners in Sri Lanka and see for ourselves exactly how they set up their mining operations.
There are a range of small-to-medium scale mines that we typically see in Sri Lanka. Some are relatively shallow shaft mines that are anywhere between 5-10 metres in depth. Others are surface mines that can be just 1 or 2 metres deep.
In Sri Lanka, there no large-scale mines that some people might envisage along the lines of those which can be found in other countries, such as Australia or South Africa, so the impact on the environment is kept to a minimum.
As can be seen from the pictures below, the mines are constructed using natural materials which, wherever possible, are sourced from the immediate vicinity. Many of the mines use materials (such as trees and foliage) which come from the necessary clearing of the area around the mine.
