Among the many minerals that are blessings of earth are precious stones. Amhara region is one of the areas where these precious minerals are found. The opal mine is found especially in South Wollo Zone, Delanta District. In this area it is the source of livelihood for many local residents and is also earning foreign currency.
The Wag Hemra Zone Sekota area is also known for its precious stones. The local residents said that they are benefiting from the mining and development of various precious metals. However, they said that they couldn’t thoroughly use the mineral resource in the area.
Yohannes Getahun is one of the experts who cut and decorate precious stones in the Sekota area of Wag Hemra Zone. He has been making his living by cutting and decorating precious stones. He converts the minerals into various jewelry and provides them to market. He stated that the products are known as jasper, moss agate, opal and obsidian. The ornaments are made with and without silver, and their services are used as ornaments for the necklace, earrings, bracelets and various others.
Yohannes said that the precious stones are easily found in the upper part of the earth and river areas. There are also minerals that are mined from the ground. Opal is one of them, and many other precious stones are found in the area.
He explained that the local youth have been working in the field without training, but recently they have been able to get training in the field and are adding value in a better way than what they were doing in the past.
He also explained that those who were able to get basic and additional jewelry production training from a humanitarian organization called Mida in the Amhara region were able to benefit by making jewelry of better quality and design.
Yohannes also mentioned that the Wag Hemra zone is helping them by providing support and monitoring to identify the area where the precious stones are. He said that with the training he received, he is providing various jewelry to market. He added he could able to create job opportunities for three people.
According to him, as most of the local people use silver jewelry, they do not like jewelry made from precious stones. This indicates that the jewelry does not find much market in the country.
Yohannes further said that it is not very common to see someone adorning himself with precious metals in the country. Thus, he is trying to sell these precious stones in silver and gold shops by mixing them with silver so that the community can use them.
Yohannes mentioned that there is a lot of discourse about the existence of precious stones in different parts of the country. However, this mineral resource could not be used properly. For example, the Wollo Delanta opal found only in the Amhara region has no competitors, but it indicates that the number of people who develop and use the precious stones is extremely small. It would be possible to create more job opportunities if this is done extensively.
As to Yohannes, the mineral resource the country has has not been touched yet. Mentioning that these minerals are sold in Dollars, he conveyed the message that the country should pay attention so that it can earn foreign exchange from the sector.
Takele Abate, who develops and sells the precious stone called opal, on his part buys the opal from the producers, adds value and provides it to the market. He stated that in South Wollo Delanta district, various precious stones are easily found in the upper part of the earth. He explained that opal is mined with a lot of hard work.
According to him; although opal is widely available in the area, the local community is not exploiting the resource as it should be. The main reason for this is lack of attention to the sector. As a result, the local community could not dream of using the mineral resources. For this reason, there is no support and monitoring from government bodies, and the way in which the ore, which has been prepared with a lot of hard work and effort, is presented to the market is not benefiting the developer. Brokers are more beneficial than the developers.
As to Takele, the extended market chain has also hindered the developers’ benefit from the sector. Takele further said; “Both the State and the Federal Government are required to support and monitor the local community engaged in the sector so that they can benefit from the mineral resources. They also need equipment to remove soil. If the government provides these and other supports, it is possible to get more income from the sector than is currently available. The local community has no land to cultivate. It is living only by mining.”
Aderaw Dagnew, coordinator of the precious jewelry minerals training of the humanitarian organization Mida, said; the organization works with more than 60 countries. It has 70 years of experience. It is based in Canada and America. It works only in Amhara region in Ethiopia.
One of the activities that the organization does in the Amhara region is to ensure that the community living in the area where precious minerals are found preserves the value chain of jewelry made from precious minerals. The other is a company that works with vegetables and fruits, starting with rice production and marketing.
He also said that it has been six years since Mida, a Canadian organization that provides financial support to the organization, started its work in the Amhara region. He also said that the organization is providing a lot of help so that the citizens in the area can develop and use the minerals.
According to the coordinator, The Mida project, which focuses on the development of precious minerals that are widely available in the Amhara region; the community is doing extensive work to extract minerals from the area and bring them to the foreign market. About 60 precious minerals are found throughout Ethiopia. Among them, there are those who mine other semi-precious minerals, including opal, which is widely found in the Amhara region, and provide them to the foreign market.
The project is mainly working in the region to create job opportunities in the sector. In addition to the employment opportunities created in the process of value addition, exports of value-added jewelry earn more foreign exchange than raw exports.
The coordinator recalled that there were no more than 10 enterprises engaged in the sector in the region. But currently, more than 125 enterprises are supported by Mida project alone.
He mentioned that these enterprises have bought machines and are engaged in cutting and decorating the precious stones, and they have been able to create employment opportunities for others, and they have been able to benefit by producing and marketing different types of jewelry. Fortunately, the local community, especially the sisters and mothers, have started to use the jewelry along with the traditional clothes, and after this, the jewelry product has gone beyond the foreign market and is becoming common in the local market.
As to him, if the government supports enterprises, provides them access to technology, creates job opportunities for the local community, and mainly, if the extracted minerals are value added, they can benefit more from foreign exchange and job creation.
In so doing, the large number of educated manpower currently leaving the country will find employment in the mining sector as the jewelry industry is potent in creating a wide range of employment opportunities.
He mentioned that the organization is doing extensive work in promoting the mineral resources to Ethiopians. To this end, it is working with Amhara Media Corporation. By doing various programs, the community will have knowledge and understanding about mineral resources, and it will also indicate in which areas the products are found. As a result, the enterprises are mainly involved. This will help Ethiopians to know the mineral resources widely and create a domestic market.
When the mineral resource is widely known in the country and the market is created, many enterprises can cut and decorate precious stones. Then, tourists can buy what is cut and prepared so that it brings a lot of income to the country. “Mineral resources are mostly sent to India, China and America without adding value,” said the coordinator. He said that it is essential to work extensively on value addition, create ample job opportunities in the sector, and earn more foreign currency.
BY BACHA ZEWDIE
THE ETHIOPIAN HERALD SUNDAY EDITION 9 JULY 2023
