Tanzanite-terrorism link questioned

Several parties involved in the tanzanite trade are attempting damage control after reports surfaced that the gemstone was being used to fund terrorist activity.

The group representing major stakeholders quickly launched a plan aimed at restoring confidence in tanzanite. The announcement came on the heels of a statement by a spokesman for the U.S. State Department claiming there is no evidence that al Qaeda or any other terrorist group is using tanzanite to finance their activities.

The plan calls for better controls in Tanzania and for all traders who buy, sell, cut, polish, and set the gemstone. It also endorses promotion and greater development of all aspects of the tanzanite trade.

Highlights of the plan include:

– an ongoing analysis of the tanzanite market to determine how abuses can be prevented;

– co-operation between government and industry to secure the movement of tanzanite from mines to points of export; and

– a system of warranties to determine that the tanzanite bought, sold, cut, polished, set or otherwise traded comes from legitimate sources.

“We have an obligation . . . to take practical, effective measures that will assure confidence in tanzanite,” says Douglas Hucker, executive director of the Dallas, Tex.-based American Gem Trade Association. “The mere possibility that terrorists may be profiting from this gemstone — now refuted by the State Department — is abhorrent.”

The stakeholders recently met in Tucson, Ariz., during GemFair, a conference organized by the American Gem Trade Association. Among those present were: Edgar Maokola-Majogo, Tanzania’s mines minister; Michael O’Keefe of the U.S. State Department.; Matthew Runci, president of Jewelers of America; and Cecilia Gardner, executive director for the Jewelers Vigilance Committee.

Maokola-Majogo said the State Department’s findings “confirm our own determination that funding of terrorism is not a factor in the tanzanite trade.”

A blue gemstone found only in Tanzania, tanzanite is popular in jewelry stores worldwide. The U.S. accounts for 80% of the market.