Joy comes from excellence, be it in unearthing precious gems from deep within the earth or touching lives. The Australian wing of FURA enjoys a similar delight by helping the needy through a noble initiative termed ‘Meals on Wheels’. Partnering with the Gemfields Community Support Association, Queensland, the CSR department of FURA has been providing nutritious meals to a group of near about 70 financially disadvantaged families. Since 2021, the miner has been funding one-half of this initiative monthly, thus keeping the underprivileged families in the sapphires mining community healthy for a wonderful life ahead.
Information is the key to progress and fringes of metropolitan civilisation always operate on traditional media such as newspapers. FURA is doing its bit by assuring a constant supply of information through a free newsletter. Covering the towns of Rubyvale, Sapphire, Anakie, Tomahawk and Willow, the Gemfields Community Newsletter is circulated monthly and provides information about local job opportunities and business advertisements. This sensitises the people who earn their revenue from mining, fossicking and tourism predominantly in this region.
FURA has been helping the Gemfields Community team by sponsoring its printing and circulation of the newsletter along with the grants from Macquarie University and Caterpillar Foundation and other places that the team has received. This newsletter is being delivered to approximately 800 addresses every month.
Fossicking is an age-old love for domestic and international tourists. Imagine scouring the gravel and stumbling on a huge blue sapphire! FURA takes part in this fun-filled activity by regularly supplying about 25 kg of low-grade corundum to Queensland Sapphire Miners Association every quarter. This helps the association generate wash bags for fossicking activity of tourists and thus retain the excitement of the hunt for gems worth a fortune. The supply also aids the small-scale cutting industry for training purposes.
Technological advancement is the prerequisite for any industry. Improving the work culture of the sapphire mining community, FURA has also extended a helping hand to the Queensland Sapphires Miners Association Inc by donating HP laptops for official work. This has improved the efficiency of the association’s operations exponentially, making communication faster, accurate and more impactful for the larger interest of sustainable sapphires mining in Central Queensland.
The journey from mining to retail involves several intermediary steps, and polishers leave probably the biggest mark on the appearance of the gemstone. Encouraging such talent, FURA GEMS has supported the local lapidary club with 10 new flexible shaft machines to carry out skin polishing training classes. Through the supply of low-grade corundum as specimen, the club has auctioned polished stones. The club continues to select the best skin-polished stone for auction and in association with FURA, is upbeat about an upcoming sapphire cutting competition in line with Gemfest 2022.
Recreational activities keep the spirits up for the community, and Queensland is all for art and sports. To engage elderlies, FURA has provided art supply material to the local art club. Paying equal to sports, FURA’s CSR team is currently in talks with Emerald sports club for sponsorship of uniforms of those sportspersons who participate in national sports of Queensland. Supporting the different walks of life and discovering gems therein, FURA is steadfast in its welfare approaches.
FURA GEMS acknowledges the contribution of the robust artisanal miners in the discovery and popularity of Australian sapphires. This massive group holds key to the brilliant history of this mystic gemstone. FURA functions as the conduit to bring out those interesting stories from aboriginal communities to boost global interest in Australian sapphires and increase income opportunities for the artisanal community. This also helps veteran artisans return to mining sapphire and recreate the demand in their respective supply chains.
Considering impacts of the ongoing pandemic, it is important to have a healthcare programme for the miners as well as their families. The Australian wing of FURA is currently exploring prospects of setting up a rescue recovery unit for emergency situations in the mining licenses of Queensland. This apart, FURA will support needy, aged members of the community by funding the Covid-19 safety kits.
TRACING BACK 
