Ever wondered why diamonds are so expensive?
Here's a passage form the book I am currently reading which explains it quite well. Bones are Forever by Kathy Reichs The book is fiction and the story set in Alaska. All place names are probably fictional, I haven't checked. Although I've read that Kathy Reichs does research her subjects fairly extensively, so perhaps they are real place names. The passage I've reprinted here is a conversation between two people. "I've learned why bling is so bloody expensive. First you have to find the diamonds. Then you have to do a feasibility study to determine how much the mine will cost and how to build it. Then there's the red tape: environmental agreements, land-use permits, water licenses, impact-benefit agreements, socioeconomic agreements. Approval involves dealing with Federal, territorial and aboriginal governments, regulatory agencies, land owners-everyone from the local farmer right up to the Pope. Then you have to build the mine, which, in ...