Precious Stone Valuation & Traceability

Small Scale Mining of precious stones creates many opportunities for the local community, but it is also linked to several problems like environmental damage, child labor and armed conflict. We are working with a partner in Côte d’Ivoire to explore possible technical solutions.

There are a lot of people involved in the Artisinal and Small-scale Mining (ASM) chain from miner to consumer and it is often not possible for the consumer to trace the source of a precious stone. Also for the miner the market is not transparent; knowledge about the price setting of his rough stone can be improved.  Access to low-cost technologies for stone fingerprinting (traceability) and valuation can improve the transparency of the whole chain.

Main goals of the pilot project are:

• Determine if and how precious stone valuation can be automated or semi-automated using low-cost accessible technology.
• Determine if and how a fingerprint of a stone or group of stones could be developed using high-resolution imagery.
• Understand the ways in which the technological solutions for traceability and valuation can transform the ASM value chain.

• Research into existing technology for stone valuation and fingerprinting
• Feasibility study including minimal technical requirements, cost and impact
• Initial best solution based on multi-criteria analysis (including client feedback)
• Optional: proposal for follow-up work, including prototype development

For this project a field trip to Côte d’Ivoire may be organized to understand the local situation and to meet field experts.

We are looking for a project manager and project  engineers with

• Affinity/knowledge in
  • measurement technology (e.g. camera’s, triangulation)
  • software development
• Experience in solving complex problems
• Interest in and awareness of the social impact of introducing new technology