Graff pays $53m for historic diamond

1,109 carat Lesedi La Rona rough Diamond

Laurence Graff of Graff Jewellers has purchased the 1,109 carat Lesedi La Rona rough Diamond.

Discovered by Canadian mining company Lucara Diamond Corp at the Botswana mine.

The diamond sold for USD $53 million.

The 1,109 gem is the world’s largest High quality rough diamond to be discovered in more than a century and the largest rough diamond in existence today.

Second only to the Cullinan which weighed 3,106.75 carats, and was discovered at the Premier No. 2 mine in , South Africa, on 26 January 1905.

Young Rough Diamonds Discovered

diamond garnet inclusion

Geologists have discovered  what they refer to as young diamonds, after analyzing a number of rough diamonds.

It now appears the creation of rough diamonds, may have occurred  later in the Earth’s history than was previously thought. Diamond  requires extreme temperatures and pressures to form. Geologists though these conditions only existed in the early formation of Earth.

Small impurities in the diamonds could indicate the conditions in which they are formed. So 26 diamonds donated by the De Beers Group where analyzed by a research team in Amsterdam.

Sm-Nd isotope techniques are used by researchers to analyzed the sampled garnet inclusions, Which are a common mineral found in Earth’s mantle and sometimes within the diamonds.

The scientists discovered two sets of diamonds, one of Archaean age 2.95 billion years old thought to be the original source of the diamonds. And then surprisingly the  other of Proterozoic age 1.15 billion years old.

Alrosa Russian Diamond Miner Recovers 27.85 carat pink diamond

Alrosa’s 27.85 carat pink diamond

Exceptional Large Pink Diamond Discovered in Russia Could Be Most Expensive ever by Alrosa

The Miner recovered the 27.85 Carat Pink Rough Diamond at its alluvial mines in Russia’s Far East.
The Largest pink diamond it had previously found was less than 4 carats in weight.

Alrosa Diamond Mining is examining the rough and will decide on whether to sell it as a rough diamond, or cut and polish it in house.

The Rough Diamond is high quality and could make it  Alrosa’s most expensive diamond if it decides to cut and polished the stone.

Chief Executive Officer Sergey Ivanov said Alrosa has mainly focused on rough diamond mining, will increase revenues from its polishing unit.

Botswana Wants Option to Buy Unusually Big Diamonds

1107 carat Rough Diamond

The world’s second largest 1,109 carat rough diamond discovered two years ago, has prompted the Botswana  government to amend the law giving it first option to buy unusually large diamonds.

Botswana’s success has been due to the rough diamond mines.

An official told a local newspaper that it referred to stones that were unusually large, were particularly clear or had a rare colour.

The price will agreed between the government and the producer, both parties with the current market price of the rough stones.

 

Petra Diamonds suspends operations at its Tanzania mine

Williamson Diamond Mine Tanzania

The Tanzanian governments confrontational approach to miners operating in the country including  Petra Diamonds, has led to Petra suspending operations at its mine.

The Tanzanian government seized a shipment of rough diamonds belonging to Petra. They also question and held a number of staff in the latest assault on the African country’s mining sector.

This includes the concentrate exports ban and the non repayment of value added tax.

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Zimbabwe ruling elite linked to disappearing diamonds

Zimbabwe Diamonds

An anti corruption group alleges it has evidence linking Zimbabwe’s ruling elite to  a decade of disappearing diamond wealth. Top security and political leaders steeling and profiting from Zimbabwe’s diamond reserves.

London based Global Witness report published on Monday, accuses Zimbabwe’s Central Intelligence Organisation spy agency of  concealing a stake in Kusena Diamonds in the Marange diamond fields in eastern Zimbabwe.Diamonds produced by the CIO linked company are traded in Dubai and  Antwerp two of the world’s leading marketplaces and have funded political repression.

 

Zimbabwean military, and the government itself with the Companies have concealed their finances and shielded their operations from public scrutiny.

Zimbabwean officials had no immediate comment.

 

Tanzania confiscates diamonds from British mining company

Tanzania confiscates diamonds

The Tanzanian government has announced the seizure of diamonds worth an estimated $29.5 million after accusing British company Petra Diamonds, of undervaluing the worth of the gems.

Minister of Finance Philip Mpango stated on Sunday that he had “nationalized” these diamonds, extracted from the Williamson Diamonds mine, 75% owned by Petra Diamonds and 25% by the Tanzanian government.

The diamonds were seized on 31 August at the Dar es Salaam International Airport while being exported to Belgium.

According to the Tanzanian authorities, Williamson Diamonds’ documents indicated an estimated cargo of $14.7 million, while the actual value of diamonds, deliberately undervalued, was $29.5 million.

“Williamson Diamonds documents give these diamonds a value of $14.7 million (pre-market) while the actual value is $29.5 million,” the Finance Ministry said in a release Saturday.

On Thursday, two former senior mining officials, quoted in parliamentary reports on alleged embezzlement linked to diamond mining and trading, resigned on the orders of President John Magufuli.

Former Minister of Mines, George Simbachawene, who until his resignation was Minister of State for Local Government, and the former head of the National Mining Company (STAMICO), Edwin Ngonyani, Deputy Minister of Public Works and Transport until Thursday.

The two ministers resigned at the orders of President Magufuli, who had just received the findings of two parliamentary reports that put them in question.

President Magufuli demanded that all current government officials be blamed for this case and leave without waiting for them to be dismissed.

Nicknamed “Tingatinga” (bulldozer in Swahili), President Magufuli has marked the spirits since taking office at the end of 2015 by being inflexible in the fight against corruption.

He hired a tug of war with the large foreign mining companies operating in Tanzania, after a parliamentary report accused them of dumping their production, resulting in a tens of billions of dollars in taxes and royalties since 1998.

But Mr. Magufuli’s unconscious and abrupt style also earned him the title of autocrat and populist by his detractors, while freedom of expression is increasingly reduced in the country.

Classic car prices drop but diamonds and wine shine

Ferrari

Old Master paintings and classic cars have lost the luster, But the uber rich have seen their jewellery, fine wine and musical instruments jump in value again.

This according to to the Blue blooded UK bank Coutts’ passion index of the finest things. Now in its twelfth year.

Thanks to 16.4 percent rises in instrument, 11.6 percent  in jewelry prices and  a near 10 percent jump in wines. Also a rise in watch prices of 6.7 percent.

One of the biggest jumps is for coins where gains since 2005 hit 225 percent.

Ferrari, Aston Martin, Jaguar ,Porsche and other collectable Classic cars whose prices have risen more than 332 percent since 2005, also went into decline.

Prices for fine art dropped between 4.3 and 7.9 percent last year. Post the financial crisis the Old Masters and 19th Century Art has been the worst performers.  Down by more than 40 percent on a cost adjusted return basis.