The Crater of Diamonds State Park in Arkansas – the only publicly owned diamond prospecting site in the world – has launched a policy of educating visitors about the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme.

The local Texarkana Gazette newspaper reports that beginning January 1, the park launched a program to see that any park visitor who finds and registers a diamond will receive information about the KP's role in keeping conflict diamonds out of the international diamond trade.

The Crater of Diamonds State Park had its genesis as a diamond mine at the beginning of the 20th century, but its resources were quickly depleted. Entrepreneurs saw tourism potential in the site, and in 1952, Howard A. Millar opened the Crater of Diamonds for diamond prospecting. Four years later a hobby miner found a 15.33-carat diamond that became known as the Star of Arkansas.

Eventually the 80-acre volcanic kimberlite formation and a surrounding 800 acres were sold to the state of Arkansas, which designated it a state park. Any visitor who finds a stone is allowed to keep it, regardless of the gem's value. Over 25,000 diamonds have been discovered there to date, including the Kahn Canary Diamond.