1 Fusion, July 2007 - Rio Grande

JOURNAL OF THE PMC GUILDGolden Sunlight Mine, Montana, photo: Lighthawk/MEICtheir metals, and what practicesare used in extraction? Let yoursuppliers know you are concerned,and that you will find other sourcesif their answers are not satisfactory,Kingsley said.“Become involved. Be proactive.Know the issue,” she said.“Show them that maybe they won’thave such a good market for theirproduct. at’s the kind of thingwe like to do, and what we can do.We can reach the jewelers directly,and that’s really what we’re trying todo.”So far, so good. It’s a grassroots effort. Kingsley, Horning, andMiller do their work as volunteers.ey’ve done some fund raising andhave received small grants. A fewlarger grants are pending. If they getthem, they will attend more conferencesand professional meetings andspeak out with a louder voice thatreaches more people.To date, ethicalmetalsmiths.orghas a mailing list of 600 people—amodest number that is growing. ewebsite also follows the news inWashington, D.C., and elsewhere.e nation’s 1872 mining law iscoming under review, because of theDemocratic majority in Congress. Itwill be in the news in the monthsahead.Kingsley will follow the issue,and speak out about it from apublic-interest perspective. “We donot consider ourselves that politicalof an organization. We are moreconcerned with ethics and theindustry. But this is a real publicinterest issue, and we can – andshould – play a role,” she said.PAGE 9