News – Page 99 – The Diamond Certification Laboratory of Australia (DCLA)

Firestone Diamonds revenue down as recovery rates, sales fall

Africa-focused Firestone Diamonds (LON:FDI) reported Wednesday a fall in first-quarter revenue due mainly to a fall in recoveries at its Liqhobong mine in Lesotho, the company’s only operating mine, and lower sale prices.

In three months to September, Petra’s first quarter of its 2020 financial year, it recovered 201,091 carats, down from 208,572 carats in the final quarter of 2019.

During the quarter, a single sale of 168,612 carats took place, generating revenue of $10.6 million, down from $12.7 million in the previous quarter. The average value was $63 per carat, down from $71.

Operating costs, however, fell to $10.32 per tonne — below guidance — from $12.57 per tonne.

FIRESTONE EXPECTS TO RESUME OPERATIONS AT LIQHOBONG’S TREATMENT PLANT IN EARLY NOVEMBER.

Firestone is to review 2020 guidance, it said on Wednesday, following “unexpected” power cuts at Liqhobong, where the treatment plant may not be able to fully resume operations until early November.

The miner had previously said it expected diamond recoveries to be between 820,000 and 870,000 carats, with ore tonnes treated between 3.6 million and 3.8 million tonnes.

Diamond miners are struggling across the board, especially those producing cheaper and smaller stones, where there is an over-supply.

Increasing demand for synthetic diamonds has also weighed on prices. Man-made diamonds require less investment than mining natural stones and can offer more attractive margins.

Buyers, those that polish and cut diamonds for retailers, have been hit this year by lower prices and tighter credit, prompting them to delay purchases.

Tiffany’s reported in August a 3% decline in like-for-like sales, while shares in Signet, the world’s largest retailer of diamond jewellery, have lost more than 60% of their value this year.

De Beers, the world’s No.1 diamond miner by value, has responded by axing production — with a target of 31 million carats this year compared with 35.3 million in 2018. It has also given buyers more room to maneuver, by allowing them to refuse half the stones in many of the diamond parcels.

Firestone’s chief executive, Paul Bosma, said he expected prices for smaller diamonds to increase towards the end of 2020, in part due to the closure of Rio Tinto’s Argyle mine in Australia.

Source: mining.com

De Beers Slashes Output Amid Diamond Glut

De Beers’ production dropped in the third quarter as the miner responded to a decline in rough demand that has left it with an inflated stockpile of diamonds.

Output fell 14% to 7.4 million carats for the period amid planned mine closures and the transition from open-pit to underground mining at its Venetia project in South Africa, parent company Anglo American said Tuesday.

“We continue to produce to weaker market demand due to macroeconomic uncertainty as well as continued midstream weakness,” the miner noted. “Diamond inventory has continued to build during the third quarter due to the subdued market conditions. The elevated inventory levels are not expected to unwind until 2020.”

De Beers reduced production across all the countries in which it operates except Botswana, the miner said. In De Beers’ South African operations, production fell 60% to 535,000 carats due to the lower volumes at Venetia. Production also ceased at the Voorspoed project in the Free State province at the end of last year.

Output shrank 7% to 426,000 carats in Namibia following the shutdown of De Beers’ Elizabeth Bay land operations in September 2018. However, production remained flat in Botswana, at 5.7 million carats, with a 22% planned increase at its Orapa project offset by an 18% decrease at the Jwaneng mine.

In Canada, production dropped 34% to 779,000 carats, largely due to the closure of De Beers’ Victor operation in Ontario, which reached the end of its life earlier this year.

Sales volume jumped 48% year on year to 7.4 million carats, as the company held one more sight than during the same period a year ago. However, overall rough demand remained subdued, the miner explained.

In the first nine months of 2019, the miner produced 23 million carats, down 12% year on year. Its rough-diamond sales remained flat during the period.

Source: Diamonds.net

Petra Diamonds’ revenues decline

Petra Diamonds Limited lost some of their lustre, sliding 5.3% to 7.65p after the diamond miner underwhelmed with a trading update.

Revenue in the three months to the end of September – the first quarter of the company’s fiscal year – was down 23% to US$61.6 million from US$80.2 million in the same period of 2018.

The company sold 603,626 carats, compared to 626,541 a year earlier, at prices roughly 4% lower than in the three months to the end of June.

$14M Blue Diamond to Headline Christie’s Geneva

A fancy deep blue diamond ring with a high estimate of CHF 14 million will go under the hammer at Christie’s Geneva Magnificent Jewels auction next month.

The 7.03 carat stone, mounted by Moussaieff, will lead the November auction, Christie’s said Thursday. Another prominent lot is a 46.93 carat, D color, internally flawless diamond ring, which is expected to fetch CHF 3.8 million to 4.5 million.

Christie’s will also offer a 42.97 carat Burmese sapphire pendant, valued at up to CHF 3 million, and a pair of untreated Colombian emerald earrings, each weighing over 7.5 carats, with a presale estimate of CHF 1 million to 1.5 million.

Other items on offer include a rare Belle Époque brooch, dated circa 1910, which was procured by the Australian opera singer Dame Nellie Melba at the height of her career. The turquoise and diamond piece is valued at CHF 250,000 to CHF 350,000.

The sale also encompasses several Art Deco pieces from Cartier. Three brooches, formerly in the collection of Countess Béatrice of Granard OBE, have a high presale estimate of CHF 220,000. A diamond Cartier bandeau, which can also be worn as a choker, two bracelets and a brooch, is valued at up to CHF 500,000.

Highlights from the collection are available for viewing at Christie’s London on October 22 and 23, and at the Four Seasons Hotel des Bergues, Geneva, from November 7 to 12.

Source: Diamonds.net

Rio Tinto Output Falls Amid Lower Grades

Lower mining grades and reduced ore availability contributed to a drop in Rio Tinto’s third-quarter diamond production, the company reported Wednesday.

Output at its wholly owned Argyle mine in Australia fell 7% year on year, yielding 3.6 million carats in the three-month period ending September 30. Production was hampered by lower grades, despite stronger mining and processing rates, Rio Tinto said.

Rio Tinto’s share of production at the Diavik mine in Canada also shrank 7% to 994,000 carats for the same period due to lower ore availability both underground and at the A21 extension pipe it opened in August last year. The company owns 60% of the deposit, with Dominion Diamond Mines holding the remainder.

Rio Tinto’s total diamond production, including its share of Diavik goods, dropped 7% to 4.5 million carats.

For the first nine months of the year, the miner produced 12.8 million carats, compared to 14.1 million in the same period of 2018. Its 2019 forecast remains unchanged at 15 million to 17 million carats, down from 18.4 million carats last year.

Deloitte to liquidate dodgy Australian diamond miner

Consultants from Deloitte have been tapped to oversee a third high profile administration in weeks. In the firm’s latest restructuring win, Deloitte Financial Advisory has been appointed by the Federal Court of Australia as a provisional liquidator of Merlin Diamonds.

The appointment comes after the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), an independent Australian government body that acts as Australia’s corporate regulator, asked the Court to wound up Merlin Diamonds, which is the parent of Merlin diamond mine in the Northern Territory, about 80 kilometres south of Borroloola.

The Merlin diamond mine was discovered more than 25 years ago, and first went into operation in 2000. Shortly after opening, the site yielded Australia’s largest diamond, a 104.73 carat stone back ten valued at over half a million US dollar’s. In 2017, the site also yielded a 35.26-carat rough brown diamond believed to be the fifth largest stone discovered in the country.

Under the ownership of Merlin Diamonds previous owners include Ashton Mining, Rio Tinto and North Australian Diamonds the mine’s total production however never reached the targets set. The Merlin diamond mine is currently one of only three diamond mines in Australia, and was set to become Australia’s last operating diamond mine when the Argyle mine in Western Australia ceases operation next year.

In October, ASIC kicked off a probe into a $13 million loan from the mining group to a private company associated to the diamond producer’s owner. The owner of Merlin Diamonds, mining magnate Joseph Gutnick, had in recent years completed a number of such loans and has proven unwilling or incapable of repaying the loans.

The instigation came shortly after an arbitration was started in Western Australia and the Northern Territory by former contractors and employees of Merlin Diamonds, who claim that they are owed more than $1.2 million in payments. Shares of Merlin Diamonds were suspended from trading last year after its management failed to file a quarterly report with the Australian Securities Exchange.

Provisional liquidation

Based on ASIC’s claim that there is a “justifiable lack of confidence in the directors’ conduct and their ability to manage Merlin’s affairs in the best interests of its shareholders and creditors”, the Court has pushed Merlin Diamonds into provisional liquidation.

Deloitte Financial Advisory has been tasked with assessing the financial situation, shedding light on the status of the loan portfolio, and drafting a plan on how to redeem stakeholders. Meanwhile, future options for the Merlin Diamonds and the Merlin diamond mine will be explored.

Earlier this month, restructuring experts from Deloitte were tapped to manage the wind-down of Karen Millen in Australia. The firm’s consultants further played their part in completing the sale of collapsed SME lender Axsesstoday.

Source: consultancy

Alrosa Sales Decline at Slower Rate

Alrosa’s sales fell 24% year on year to $258.7 million in September, amid continued market weakness.

However, the total was the highest in four months, and reflected a noticeable recovery in the small-stone sector, the Russian miner said last week.

“It is partly due to the traditional autumn market revival after the holiday period, and a slight increase in demand from Indian cutters and polishers ahead of the Diwali festival,” said Alrosa deputy CEO Evgeny Agureev. “The most noticeable increase [was] sales of small-sized rough diamonds.”

Rough-diamond sales decreased 23% to $256.5 million for the month, while polished revenue plunged 69% to $2.2 million.

Alrosa’s sales fell 34% to $2.42 billion in the first nine months of the year. Revenue from rough stones dropped 34% to $2.39 billion for the period, while polished-diamond sales slid 50% to $36.8 million.

However, while sales have seen a slight boost, Alrosa thinks a full recovery will take longer.

“The market is still facing low demand for rough diamonds, though there has been a gradual recovery for some categories of diamonds,” Agureev added. “We still believe it will take some time to get a balance between supply and demand.”

Agureev, who has been the director of Alrosa’s United Selling Organization (USO) since 2017, was promoted to deputy CEO of the group last week.

“Given the difficult conditions in the global diamond market today, Evgeny will continue to improve the efficiency of the entire supply chain of the company and look for new approaches to stimulate rough-diamond sales, as well as to increase the level of interaction with the company’s customers and expand the customer base,” noted Alrosa CEO Sergey Ivanov.

Source: Diamonds.net

Diamond sales at Lucapa total $49.5 million year-to-date

African miner Lucapa Diamond Company said yesterday its latest sales of diamonds from the Lulo alluvial mine in Angola and the Mothae kimberlite mine in Lesotho totaled $10.4 million.

Year to date sales are $45.9 million.

The average price per carat is $1,087 at the Lulo Mine. Excluded from the figures is a 46-carat pink diamond, which has been exported by SML to Antwerp and is being assessed for polishing.

At the Mothae Mine, the average price per carat was $837. The mine began operations in January. The company said the mine has already recovered seven +50 carat diamonds.

Lucapa Diamond is focused on becoming a producer of large and premium-quality diamonds from alluvial and kimberlite sources.

Pink Diamond Nets $20M at Sotheby’s

A pink diamond ring was the top lot at Sotheby’s Hong Kong auction this week, garnering HKD 155.8 million ($19.9 million), or $1.9 million per carat.

The cut-cornered rectangular mixed-cut, 10.64-carat, fancy-vivid-purplish-pink, internally flawless stone, set between two white trapeze diamonds, had a presale estimate of HKD 150 million to HKD 200 million ($19.1 million to 25.5 million). Total proceeds at the Magnificent Jewels and Jadeite auction came to HKD 300.8 million ($38.3 million).

A 100.02-carat, fancy-intense-yellow diamond necklace by Anna Hu, fashioned in the shape of a pipa — a Chinese musical instrument similar to a four-stringed lute — sold for HKD 45.3 million ($5.8 million) against a presale estimate of HKD 40 million to HKD 50 million ($5.1 million to $6.4 million). The necklace was one of five pieces in Hu’s Silk Road Music Collection, all of which found buyers, Sotheby’s told Rapaport News.

Meanwhile, a necklace featuring a pear-shaped, 15.08-carat diamond suspended from a row of alternating step-cut and brilliant-cut diamonds brought in HKD 9.2 million ($1.2 million). It was estimated at HKD 7.6 million to HKD 10 million ($968,860 to $1.3 million).

Three of the auction’s top lots failed to find a buyer, including an emerald-cut, 80.88-carat, D-flawless, type IIa diamond with a presale estimate of $10 million to $12.8 million, Sotheby’s added. An 11.88-carat, pigeon’s blood Burmese ruby and diamond ring by designer Raymond Yard, valued at $5.6 million to $8.2 million, and a jadeite bead necklace with a diamond clasp, estimated at $3.2 million to $4.1 million, also went unsold.

Source: Diamonds.net

Alrosa finds Matryoshka-style stone, the first in diamond mining history

The stone resembles a traditional Russian Matryoshka doll. Image by Alrosa.

An unusual diamond with another diamond found inside was mined in Yakutia at the Nyurba mining and processing division of Alrosa, the Russian miner announced Friday.

Due to its peculiarity, the stone resembles a traditional Russian Matryoshka doll. According to the experts who have studied the find, this is the first such diamond in the history of global diamond mining, Alrosa said.

According to scientists, the diamond may be over 800 million years old. Despite its complex structure, it weighs only 0.62 carats.

Specialists of the Yakutsk Diamond Trade Enterprise discovered this unusual diamond during a sorting process and handed it over to the Research and Development Geological Enterprise of Alrosa.

There, it was studied using several methods, including Raman and infrared spectroscopies, as well as X-ray microtomography. Based on the results of the study, the scientists have a theory about how the crystal was formed; that there was an internal diamond at first, and the external one was formed during the subsequent stages of growth.

“The most interesting thing for us was to find out how the air space between the inner and outer diamonds was formed. We have two main hypotheses,” said Oleg Kovalchuk, deputy director, innovations at ALROSA’s Research and Development Geological Enterprise.

“According to the first version, a mantle mineral captured a diamond during its growth, and later it was dissolved in the Earth’s surface. According to the second version, a layer of porous polycrystalline diamond substance was formed inside the diamond because of ultra-fast growth, and more aggressive mantle processes subsequently dissolved it.

Due to the presence of the dissolved zone, one diamond began to move freely inside another on the principle of matryoshka nesting doll,” said Kovalchuk.

“As far as we know, there were no such diamonds in the history of global diamond mining yet.”

Source: mining.com