I stumbled upon the following article the other week...

Dark crystals: the brutal reality behind a booming wellness craze

Although I had been vaguely aware, that there might be some issues with the way some minerals are mined (i.e. by small children earning less than a dollar a day), the scale of the problem hadn't really hit home until now.

Not sure what to do, but think I may start by asking mineral sellers a more searching questions about the origins of their products, e.g. by enquiring not only which country, but which mine they came from and what steps have been taken to ensure that they are 'untainted' by exploitative working conditions.

The dealer mentioned at the end of the article appears to lay the blame squarely on customers refusing to pay high enough prices, to allow Fair Trade and due diligence schemes to be applied by the Rock 'N' Gem business. Is that a fair assessment?

All thoughts and opinions welcome, from either side of the debate...