De Beers Lets Clients Delay Rough Purchases

De Beers sorting

De Beers loosened its purchasing requirements for rough buyers at last week’s sight in an effort to ease the oversupply affecting the diamond market.

Sightholders have struggled to reduce their inventories due to an imbalance of stocks and weak polished demand. To tackle the problem, De Beers allowed its customers to defer purchases from the July sight to other sales later this year, a spokesperson confirmed Thursday.

De Beers’ long-term sales program compels customers to show certain levels of demand at sights, which take place 10 times a year in Botswana. They are free to push off buying one box per “band” (selection of goods) per half year, but only from one sight to the next. However, at last week’s sale, sightholders were able to make an extra deferral, and could also delay to later in the year, not just by one sight.

In addition, the company has brought forward sightholders’ annual opportunity to reschedule their purchases, known as “re-phasing.” This year, that will occur after the July sight, the sixth of the year, whereas it’s normally scheduled for the eighth sight.

De Beers’ revenue and profit fell in the first half, as a buildup of excess polished goods in the midstream and retail sectors hit rough demand, the company explained last week in its half-year earnings. A price reduction at the June sight helped sightholders deal with the weak profitability they are facing, De Beers chief financial officer Nimesh Patel told Rapaport News Thursday.

The miner also lowered its production forecast to 31 million carats for this year, compared with an earlier outlook of 31 million to 33 million carats, Patel noted. Output in 2018 was 35.3 million carats.

Holding back rough

The combination of lower production and prices, together with increased purchasing flexibility, should tackle the “short-term” crisis, Patel predicted. The company also experienced a “meaningful increase” in its own rough inventories during the first half because it held back rough, he said.

“We’ve clearly reacted in terms of price, so we’ve injected profitability back into goods,” the executive said. “Secondly, we’ve reacted in terms of production…. Alongside that, we’re working with our customers to offer them more flexibility in the way they purchase, so [we’ve introduced] re-sequencing of the timing of their purchases of goods through the course of the year, which is something that we’ve allowed [them] to do, and we’ve added to that additional referrals as well. All those things will see us through this difficult period.”

The problems come from within the diamond industry rather than from outside: Growth in global gross domestic product supports consumer demand for diamond jewelry in the long term, Patel said. The US retail market is increasing, while sales in China and India are also rising in local currencies, he observed.

However, weak fourth-quarter holiday sales in 2018 and shaky consumer demand in the first half has made it difficult for the industry to offload polished stocks to retailers, Patel said. Consumers’ shift away from lower-end shopping malls has forced some companies to close stores and liquidate their goods, he added. Furthermore, retailers’ increased reliance on consignment has raised inventory risks for the midstream, as failure to make a final sale often forces suppliers to resend jewelry items to a different client, or to dismantle and remanufacture the jewelry, he explained.

“That doesn’t help the midstream in terms of sell-through,” he noted.

Yet the near future is positive because the issues are “specific to the balance of stocks in the midstream and the downstream,” Patel argued. “It’s a function of that excess polished as it sits today…just working its way through the system. As that happens, we should see polished prices perform better [and] rough demand return.”

Source: Diamonds.net

Fitsch Solutions remains cautious on chances for Angola’s diamonds sector

Fitsch Solutions. a risk management agency, reported that Endiama, Angola’s state-owned diamond mining company, will be privatized, with a portion of its capital to be sold on the country’s growing stock exchange, the BODIVA.

Fitsch reported that in May 2019, President Lourenco had presented a plan to create a National Solid Mineral Resources Agency in 2020 that will replace Endiama as the diamond-sector concessionaire, allowing the latter to focus on its core business of diamond production.

Fitsch noted that Lucapa Diamond Company was doing well and that a Canadian company, called Tango Mining, had partnered with CC Mining and invested $1.3 million to develop the Txapemba Project in the Lunda Norte province. In addition, Endiama has several kimberlite pipes and alluvial projects for investors. Fitsch said that currently are five available kimberlite projects: Mulepe, Chiri, Tchegi, Sangamina and Camafuca-Camazambo as well as four alluvial concessions at Sajnungo, Cabula, Muriege and Muanga.

Fitsch warned, however, that it remains “cautiously optimistic on the prospects of Angola’s mining sector growth ahead, with Angola’s prolonged economic weakness risks increasing social unrest which could derail reform momentum. “During the 2017 elections President Lourenco campaigned on bringing about an ‘economic miracle’ yet the economy has remained in a downturn since he assumed office, with real GDP growth averaging -1.4 percent from 2016 to 2018 compared to the 2010-15 average of 4.6 percent, amid the oil sector’s declining output and weaker prices weighing on exports and broader economic activity.”

Diamond Recoveries Up 34% At Firestone, But Market Unfavorable

Firestone Diamonds

Firestone Diamonds announced Thursday that it recovered 208,572 carats in Q4, up 34% from its Q3.

However, the diamond market is not great, warned Paul Bosma, chief executive officer.

“From a market and pricing perspective, it was a tough financial year, particularly for the smaller, lower value goods and these conditions are expected to persist for the rest of 2019 and possibly improving during 2020 when global rough supply is expected to reduce,” said Bosma.

Looking at full year, total recoveries were 829,458 bringing the company within its guidance of between 820,000 and 870,000 carats. Operating costs were $11.49 per tonne, lower than the $15.00 to $16.00 range the company previously forecast.

Firestone is maintaining the same recovery guidance for 2020 fiscal year. Expected operating costs have been reduced between $13.50 and $14.50 per tonne.

The company is currently negotiation with debt holders “…to ensure it can sustain operations through the current downturn and to be well positioned to benefit when the global supply-demand dynamics improve.”

Source: kitco.com

De Beers Profit Falls Amid Market Slump

Rough diamond sorting Kimberley South Africa

De Beers’ profit dropped in the first half of the year as weak demand at the trade and consumer levels impacted diamond prices, the company said Thursday.

The rough market was subdued due to high inventories in both the midstream and the retail sector, as well as a slowdown in growth of consumer demand, the miner explained. The US-China tariff dispute, protests in Hong Kong and the strong US dollar hit retail performances outside the US, especially in China and the Gulf region. In the US, retailers’ store closures and reduction of stocks weighed on polished demand, creating a further negative effect for the rough business, De Beers added.

Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) slumped 27% to $518 million as a result of the impact on margins, the miner reported. Total underlying earnings fell 7% to $187 million. Revenue slid 17% to $2.65 billion, with rough-diamond sales decreasing 21% to $2.3 billion. Other revenues came from businesses such as Element Six, its industrial-diamond unit, and De Beers Jewellers, its high-end retail chain.

“The lower rough-diamond sales reflected higher-than-expected polished stocks at retailers and the midstream at the beginning of 2019, with overall midstream inventory levels continuing to be high throughout the first half,” De Beers noted.

De Beers’ rough-price index, measuring prices on a like-for-like basis, fell 4% for the period versus a year earlier. The average selling price declined 7% to $151 per carat, influenced by a change in the sales mix caused by the weaker conditions.

The company expects those challenges to continue in the short term, but also foresees an improvement as the industry reduces its inventory and consumer demand rises.

“Underlying GDP [gross domestic product] growth remains supportive of consumer-demand growth, and is expected to bring midstream and retailer stocks back to more normalized levels as we move into 2020, subject to an improving macroeconomic environment,” De Beers said.

Last week, De Beers reduced its production outlook following low demand, forecasting output of 31 million carats this year, whereas it had previously expected to recover 31 million to 33 million carats. Production fell 11% to 15.6 million carats during the first half, as the company chose not to increase mining levels at other deposits to compensate for a lull at the Venetia mine. Output at the site in South Africa has fallen amid its transition from open-pit to underground operations.

Source: diamonds.net

Don’t punish African diamond producing countries without cause, WFDB President says

In his first -ever blog, Ernest Blom, president of the World Federation of Diamond Bourses, argues that the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme (KPCS) is slow because one of the most hot potatoes is ignored.

The KPCS, he wrote,is one of the great accomplishments of the worldwide diamond community of the last two decades, as more than 99.5 percent of the diamonds produced fall under a certification regime.

On the question why the KPCS agenda is moving so slowly, Blom says there is an elephant in the room nobody wants to acknowledge. “Of course, consuming nations have the right to demand that the strongest possible control mechanisms to guarantee that the diamonds imported into their countries are not tainted by any form of abuse. The same is also true for producing nations. They are entitled to protect the interests of their natural resources, ” Blom wrote.

“So what should producers say – in the interest of their nation – when large retail companies make an announcement that certain countries’ production is not allowed to be sold through them?” he asked . “Any decision taken at the KP or elsewhere affects the entire diamond industry, from mining to the manufacturers and dealers as well as to the smallest retail shop, which affects the lives of tens of millions of people.”

“It should not come as a surprise to anyone in Southern Africa that the enthusiasm to comply with what is perceived as a new form of economic colonialism is pretty limited. When countries are asked to make rules which could hurt them immediately once agreed upon it is difficult to find common ground.”

“If KP Participants are faced with “prima facie” judgments by large corporations and feel the enormous commercial consequences in their supply chain – and this without any written rule or law – then one should not be surprised at their reluctance to have a rule adopted in a formal manner and included in the KP Core Document.” Blom continued and said that there should be a rule in the current definition of conflict diamonds that includes any systemic violence.

At the same time, the objective analysis of facts should be the cornerstone of verification of allegations, and “trial by media” cannot be part of that solution. “This is the elephant that the Indian KP Chair has to ride. If he can do that successfully and neutralize what is perceived as a real threat of becoming excluded, he will have accomplished what many have failed to achieve in the past 10 years. From the World Federation of Diamond Bourses, we wish Shri Alok Vardan Chaturvedi lots of luck in this major task.”

Source: IDEX

Tango Averages $1.4K/ct. at Rough Sale

Tango Mining Oena

Tango Mining sold a 19.87-carat rough diamond for $4,358 per carat, one of a number of high-value stones up for tender from its Oena project in South Africa.

The miner sold 230 stones totaling 531.82 carats from its May 9 to July 7 production. It achieved an average price of $1,382 per carat for rough at the sale.

The company also sold a 49.6-carat diamond for $2,561 per carat, a 16.65-carat rough for $2,126 per carat, and a 24.97-carat stone for $1,101 per carat.

In addition, Tango is conducting trial mining in Angola and an exploration project in Liberia.

Source: Diamonds.net

Belgium Trade Cuts Diamond-Research Funding

AWDC onthulling diamants lijp machine

The Antwerp World Diamond Centre (AWDC) will no longer provide financial backing to the city’s diamond-technology unit, citing difficult conditions in the local industry.

“As a result of the high cost of labor in our country, almost the entirety of our diamond manufacturing has relocated abroad,” AWDC spokeswoman Margaux Donckier said Friday.

The AWDC established the Scientific and Technical Research Center for Diamond (WTOCD) in 1977 to support the Belgian diamond-manufacturing sector. The venture was created to improve Antwerp’s competitive position in the global industry, and to develop and implement products for the trade.

“The market for these high-quality machines in Antwerp continues to shrink,” Donckier noted. “They are also too hi-tech, and too expensive, for the majority of polishing units in low-wage countries.”

Those factors have put WTOCD in a difficult situation, Donckier explained. AWDC tried to work with the research center on Fenix, a new, fully automated diamond-polishing process that it believed would offer a competitive edge to Antwerp’s diamond industry. However, the technology, which had been set to debut last September, is still not ready.

“The technology has the potential to spark a revolution in diamond polishing, but at this point we recognize that additional investments are needed to ready the product for the market,” Donckier added, stressing that AWDC cannot afford to invest more given the state of the market.

During the course of its operations, WTOCD created synthetics-detection equipment, such as the M-Screen+ machine, which is sold by HRD Antwerp.

Source: Diamonds.net

Lucara Names 1,758ct. Diamond ‘Rare Find’

Lucara 1758 carat sewelo

Botswana’s largest rough diamond now has a name, following a public contest held by Lucara Diamond Corp.

The company chose to call the 1,758-carat stone Sewelô, which means “rare find” in the local Setswana language. It was the winning entry from more than 22,000 submissions.

“The largest diamond recovered in Botswana’s history was named by the people of Botswana this evening in a celebration of Botswana’s success,” Lucara CEO Eira Thomas said last week.

The miner has completed its analysis of the diamond — which it recovered in April from the Karowe mine’s high-value south lobe — and is considering its sale options, Thomas added.

Lucara announced the new name during a gala event, at which Botswana President Mokgweetsi Masisi was present.

Source: Diamonds.net

AGD finds exceptional 47.61 carat deep lemon yellow at Grib

48 carat rough yellow diamond

AGD Diamonds, the firm that operates and owns the Grib diamond mine in northern Central Russia announced it has recovered a gem-quality, deep lemon yellow diamond, weighing 47.61 carats, on July 13, 2019.

The stone was found during the ore processing at Grib’s processing plant. In a news release in Russian, AGD said the diamond is of an extremely rare deep lemon hue and is classified as a “high end stone.” Experts noted its perfect octahedral shape and its high – flawless – clarity.

The company noted that the stone has been recovered undamaged thanks to the mine’s innovative, advanced mining technologies and processing by means of its XRT system.

Source: IDEX

Gem Diamonds recovers 140ct. Rough

Gem Diamonds 140 carat rough

Gem Diamonds has recovered a white diamond weighing 140 carats, the second over 100 carats it has reported this year.

It found the high-quality stone on July 6 at its Letšeng mine in Lesotho, the company said Monday. In March, it found a 161-carat white diamond at the deposit.

The miner recently recovered two yellow diamonds from Letšeng weighing more than 100 carats. It retrieved a 134-carat stone in March, and another weighing 135-carats last month.

So far this year, Gem Diamonds has recovered four diamonds over 100 carats. In 2018, it unearthed a total of 15.

Source: Diamonds.net