GIA Supports Beneficiation Efforts in Africa

Collaboration with USAID to provide diamond training

CARLSBAD, Calif. – Dec. 5, 2011 – GIA (Gemological Institute of America) approved a grant to support a United States Agency for International Development (USAID) project called Property Rights and Artisanal Diamond Development (PRADD). The grant will provide training in sorting and evaluation of diamonds in the Central African Republic and Liberia.

Under the grant, GIA will support travel and accommodation costs for 20 students to participate in a week-long training course held in Bangui, Central African Republic. Five participants from Liberia and 15 participants from the Central African Republic that are already involved with the PRADD project will be selected to receive the training. GIA will waive the full tuition fee; provide specialized training materials, including rough diamonds for the training; as well as an instructor, assistant instructor and translator.

USAID’s PRADD Project supports the efforts of both national governments to implement the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme. The project objectives are to bring greater quantities of alluvial diamond into the legal chain of custody while improving the livelihood of local mining communities. This year, the legal diamond production in the areas of the Central African Republic where PRADD operates represented 27.5 percent of the national production compared to only 4.1 percent in 2009.

“We look forward to serving this region through our educational offerings,” said Donna Baker, president and CEO of GIA. “We are honored to work alongside USAID on this important initiative to help achieve a greater quality of life for the residents of these African communities.”

For more information about the PRADD Project, please contact Timothy Fella at tfella@usaid.gov. For more information about GIA visit www.gia.edu.