De Beers’ prices fell last year as a prolonged oversupply in the midstream and economic challenges weighed on demand.
The company’s rough-price index, which reflects like-for-like values, dropped 6% for the 12-month period, parent company Anglo American reported Thursday.
Sales volume slipped 19% to 27.4 million carats, with the average selling price sliding 25% to $147 per carat. While the company has not published its full-year revenue, rough sales decreased 36% to $3.63 billion, according to data from De Beers’ 10 sight reports for 2023.
Output for the year was down 8% to 31.9 million carats as the company transitioned its Venetia deposit in South Africa to underground mining and processed lower-grade ore from its Canadian and Namibian sites, outweighing an increase in Botswana.
In the fourth quarter, sales volume plunged 63% year on year to 2.7 million carats, while production declined 3% to 7.9 million carats.
“De Beers offered full flexibility for rough-diamond allocations…as sightholders continued to take a cautious approach to their purchasing during the quarter as a result of the prevailing market conditions and extended cutting and polishing factory closures in India,” the company noted. “De Beers was loss-making in the second half of 2023 owing to the subdued sight sale results, reflecting conditions of cyclical lows driven by the prevailing macroeconomic environment. Whilst there has been some improvement coming into 2024, the prospects for economic growth remain uncertain and it may take some time for rough-diamond demand to fully recover.”
The miner expects to produce between 29 million and 32 million carats in 2024. However, it has cautioned that it “will assess options to reduce production in response to prevailing market conditions.”
Seven days into the Winter Show antiques, art and design fair, there was still a steady flow of well-heeled collectors moving about the Park Avenue Armory on New York’s Upper East side. In its 70th year, the show, which ran from January 19 to 28, featured 76 exhibitors from seven countries including about nine exhibitors who specialize in collectible jewels. Several of the jewelry galleries and dealers have been longtime participants in the annual show, and nearly all were happy with business this year.
Each of the jewelry exhibitors holds a unique niche in antique and period jewels, and most say collectors were looking at a broad range of pieces that these dealers offered. As always, signed jewels were popular, but so were unsigned pieces. People were also looking for easily wearable and versatile pieces. Jewels and sketches by René Lalique were seen throughout the fair.
One of the exhibitors that had good results from pieces by the French jewelry artist was London-based Wartski, which focuses on Fabergé objects and historic European jewels, many with royal pedigree. The person behind the stand said attendees were looking for a variety of pieces from the firm’s vast collection of European and Russian jewels. Lalique was popular.
An Italian Renaissance Revival Bracelet. (Winter Show)
Benjamin Macklowe of Macklowe Gallery in New York also featured Lalique jewelry, displaying about a dozen items by the Art Nouveau jeweler at its booth this year.
“We sold across our product line. Bulgari, Cartier, Lalique and more,” he said. “Every time we sold something, regardless of the price, it was a great example of what it was.”
Macklowe’s firm handles Tiffany & Co. lamps and objects, furniture, and antique and period jewels. Among the highlights of its sales was a pair of Bulgari ruby cabochon earrings for $175,000.
A Bulgari Toi & Moi ring in platinum and yellow gold set with diamonds and a Burma ruby from Véronique Bamps. (Winter Show)
Veteran exhibitors reported feeling pleased with the outcome of the show.
This year’s installment drew “one of the best crowds” they’d ever seen, said Carrie Imberman and her brother Matthew Imberman, owners of Kentshire in New York, who have been working the Winter Show for 33 years. Like others, they say sales from the show continue after it’s over, based on the relationships they form.
Signed jewels were also popular. Among the company’s sales during the show was an Art Deco Boucheron diamond bracelet, a Hermès gold panel necklace and bombé diamond ring, and an Art Deco diamond bracelet by Cartier.
An Art Moderne gold and diamond bracelet in 18k and platinum by René Boivin. (Winter Show)
“We’ve had a good fair,” Matthew said. “We have jewels from different periods, designers and a variety of gem-set pieces. People are buying items that have a specific meaning to them.”
A La Vieille Russie has exhibited at the Winter Show almost since its inception. The company has expertise in Fabergé and other art objects of Russian origin, as well as European antique and vintage jewels. Peter Schaffer, one of the family members who lead the company, and specialist Adam Patrick were satisfied with the fair, saying they made some sales but just as importantly, they had the opportunity to meet new potential clients. For many, buying historic jewels isn’t an impulse purchase.
It’s the third time exhibiting at the Winter Show for Monaco-based dealer Véronique Bamps, who sells signed pieces from historic jewelry houses and designers. She plans to return, saying it attracts both well-cultured locals and an international crowd.
“I’ve spoken to people from a lot of countries and states,” she said. “[This show] attracts a very large crowd. And a lot of younger people who are buying pieces that they feel they could wear every day.”
Victorian ruby and diamond butterfly brooch, circa 1890. (ALVR)
For New York ladies, she added, the period is less significant. “The key is elegance when they buy jewelry,” she observed. “They fall in love, and they buy.”
Perhaps no one at the show was more pleased than Didier and Martine Haspeslagh, owners of Didier, a London-based firm that specializes in artist-designed jewels acquired on the secondary market. The couple sold several important pieces, including creations in the “five-figure” range by artists comprising Arnaldo Pomodoro, Franco Cannilla, Salvador Dali, Pablo Picasso and Sonia Delaunay, among others.
“We’ve had a very good show,” said Didier Haspeslagh. “We’ve had a number of new clients. This fair attracts people with taste, money and a need for artistic content.” People were most attracted to “big, spectacular pieces,” he continued.
18k yellow gold necklace with three abstract repoussé pendants with kinetic elements, and set with diamonds. Designed by Italian artist, Afro Basaldella, and made in the gold workshop of Mario Masenza, Rome. On offer by Didier. (Winter Show)
Like others, Simon Teakle, whose eponymous firm is located in Greenwich, Connecticut, said that jewels by the European heritage brands were popular at the show. “There’s always a demand for signed jewels,” he noted.
Simon Teakle pair of cameo and diamond earrings by Hemmerle. (Winter Show)
Another gallery owner who cited Art Deco jewels was James Boening, director of New York-based James Robinson, a New York-based gallery that spotlights vintage jewels, art objects, silver and flatware. He also sold items that can be worn in formal and casual surroundings. “Women are looking for jewels that are versatile,” he said. “Pieces that can be worn with jeans. Pieces that are more approachable.”
American black opal and diamond cluster ring mounted in platinum and 14k gold, circa 1910, from James Robinson. (Winter Show)
Still, not everyone experienced successful jewelry sales at the show. Tim Martin, owner of New York-based S.J. Shrubsole specializes in vintage jewels, silver and art objects. While the other two categories did well, jewelry sales were slow, he said.
Gemological Science International (GSI) has issued a warning to the trade after coming across a “notable increase” in jewelry set with pink, yellow and brown lab-grown diamonds posing as natural.
The jewels, which have been submitted to the lab for grading, often contain synthetic stones mixed in with natural colored diamonds, Debbie Mazar, president and cofounder of GSI, explained Tuesday. Many of the undisclosed synthetics were type IIa, with a single nitrogen atom, and ranged in size from melee to 1 carat.
Additionally, some of the lab-grown diamonds were intentionally cut to mimic natural ones, GSI noted. The GSI observed several with fractures, pinpoint clouds, polish-overs and distinct brown grain lines, features found in natural diamonds, which would potentially enable the fraudulent stones to pass standard gemological evaluation, GSI said.
“The challenge arises as most jewelry-screening equipment in the market is designed to screen white, near-colorless diamonds,” Azar explained.
The advanced technology in diamond growth is contributing to increased success by growers in replicating natural diamonds more and more, GSI added.
GSI’s warning comes on the heels of several from other labs. In December, Italian grading lab Gem-Tech cautioned that it had encountered a number of lab-grown stones circulating bearing fraudulent inscriptions from the Gemological Institute of America (GIA) for natural stones. Last month, the International Gemological Institute (IGI) examined a 6.01-carat lab-grown with a GIA laser inscription for a similarly cut natural, while the GIA reported it was taking steps to combat the recent influx of lab-growns bearing fraudulent inscriptions from the lab by offering same-day report verification.
The Gemological Institute of America (GIA) identified two diamonds, each over 4 carats, that had been stolen from a home in Colorado.
The stones were taken together with four other pieces of jewelry in June 2023, the GIA said Monday. The combined total of all six pieces is over $475,000.
A wholesale diamond dealer, who was uninvolved in the crime, sent the diamonds to the GIA for grading. When the GIA matched the stones to their reports, it found they had been reported stolen, and alerted detectives from the Boulder County Sherriff’s Office (BCSO), who were then able to use that information to make an arrest in the case, the institute explained.
“GIA often receives requests from law enforcement to help them recover GIA-graded diamonds that are reported lost or stolen,” said Christina Yates, associate general counsel responsible for this aspect of GIA’s work with law enforcement.
The GIA has trained agents with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Customs Service and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), in multiple countries, including the US, Canada, the UK, Belgium, Dubai, Israel and Hong Kong.
A sapphire and diamond ring took the top spot at a recent jewelry sale at Sotheby’s in Hong Kong, smashing its high estimate.
The piece, which contains a cushion-shaped, 17.50-carat, royal-blue Burmese sapphire surrounded by marquise-cut diamonds, sold for HKD 2.8 million ($357,226), the auction house said last week. That figure was well above its upper presale price.
In total, the January 31 Important Jewels auction brought in HKD 48.9 million ($6.3 million).
Yellow diamonds performed well at the sale, as did jewels by well-known design houses, including Graff, Cartier, Buccellati, and Van Cleef & Arpels. Sotheby’s also sold several diamonds and both green and lavender jadeite pieces with no reserve.
Here are the other four items rounding out the top five:
This cushion-shaped, 14.51-carat, fancy-intense-yellow, VS1-clarity diamond ring by Bulgari went for HKD 2.5 million ($324,751), within its presale estimate.
A ring set with an oval-shaped, 7.02-carat, Mozambican ruby center stone, surrounded by oval and pear-shaped diamonds, fetched HKD 2.5 million, just under its HKD 2.6 million ($332,422) upper price.Sotheby’s sold this Graff bracelet, featuring nine cut-cornered square or rectangular-modified, fancy-intense-yellow diamonds ranging from 1.62 to 5.21 carats and 18 yellow-tinted diamonds for HKD 2.4 million ($308,513), within its estimate.A pair of earrings, each suspending an oval ruby — one weighing 4.26 carats and the other 4.09 carats —and brilliant-cut diamonds, garnered HKD 1.9 million ($243,563) at the sale, within its presale price range.
Gem Diamonds saw revenue and average per carat prices down by around a quarter during 2023 amid ongoing “downward pressure” in the rough market.
The UK-based miner operates Letseng, in Lesotho, the highest dollar per carat kimberlite diamond mine in the world.
It says total sales for the year were $139.4m, down 26 per cent, and the average per carat price was down 24 per cent to $1,334.
The highest price it achieved during the year was $33,745 per carat for a 117.09 carat white diamond which sold for $4m. It also sold six $1m-plus diamonds for a total of $13.8m.
Revenue for Q4 was $36.4m, up 14 per cent on Q3, according to its Q4 2023 Trading Update published on 1 February). Gem says it recovered 32,142 carats in Q4, up 16 per cent on Q3.
Recoveries of large diamonds in 2023 were similar to 2022, but below the mine’s average since 2008. The decrease in prices achieved in 2023 negatively impacted overall revenue achieved during the year.
Letseng is 70 per cent owned by Gem and 30 per cent by the Lesotho government.
Lucapa reported a slight increase in total rough sales for FY2023 in what it described as a solid performance.
The Australian miner announced revenues of $102.2m, up by 1 per cent on the previous year.
Q4 earnings from its two mines – Lulo in Angola and Mothae in Lesotho – slipped by 1 per cent to $40.8m.
During the year Lucapa sold 11 diamonds from Lulo that fetched a total of $32.7m at two Q4 tenders in Q4. It also recovered two Type IIa diamonds from Lulo, a 208-ct and a 235-ct, the second largest recovery since commercial operations started in 2015.
“Both mines delivered a solid performance against processing and production targets in Q4 and we are pleased with the full year results which saw group guidance achieved,” said managing director Nick Selby.
Mothae performed well despite experiencing a lower dollar per carat average in Q4, which impacted its overall diamond price for the year. Lulo had a good run which saw its high-value recoveries attract firm prices at tender.”
Lulo recovered fewer carats than forecast (30,585) but achieved an average $2,700 per carat, well up on the forecast of $2,300. Mothae recovered more carats that forecast but saw average price per carat down from guidance of $1,000 to an actual $775.
Lucapa said in its ASX announcement that the overall diamond price index began to trend upwards towards the end of 2023, because of India’s two-month moratorium and EU sanctions on Russian goods. “Tightening economic conditions imposed by central banks and a surge in inflation continues to impact discretionary spending on items such as diamond jewellery,” it said.
“However according to media reports at the end of 2023, there are signs the US market is recovering, however the Chinese market remains slow.”
Lucapa holds a 40 per cent stake in Lulo. The remainder is owned by Angola’s national diamond company Endiama (32 per cent) and by private Angolan company Rosas & Petalas (28 per cent). Lucapa holds a 70 per cent stake in Mothae. The government of Lesotho holds the remaining 30 per cent.
A 21.38 carat Fancy Vivid Yellow diamond is to be auctioned tomorrow (31 January) at Sotheby’s Hong Kong with an estimate of HKD 8,000,000 to 11,000,000 HKD ($1m to $1.4m).
The radiant-cut VS1 gem is flanked by two tapered baguette diamonds, mounted in platinum and 18 karat yellow gold, inscribed HW (Harry Winston).
The FCRF (Fancy Color Research Foundation) gives the stone a visual score of 7 out of 12. It says the stone looks slightly larger in relation to its weight, which is an important feature to consider when buying color diamonds.
“A large vivid yellow radiant cut diamond features a low inner grade and prominent colorless patches around the crown area,” it reports. “No significant green or brown undertone is visible in the hue.”
The stone leads the live Important Jewels auction, Sotheby’s first jewelry auction of the year in Hong Kong, comprising a selection of diamonds, colored stones, jadeites and signed jewels.
The diamond industry is bracing for significant change in 2024.
New sanctions on Russia will fast-track the adoption of traceability programs across the supply chain. Should they wish to sell those diamonds into the Group of Seven (G7) countries, companies will have to prove their goods were sourced from non-Russian production.
On December 6, the G7 — comprising Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States — announced its latest sanctions, aimed at “limiting Russia’s ability to fund its illegal war,” the joint statement read.
Diamonds featured prominently in this round of measures, perhaps because the group had delayed a policy decision on how to handle Russia’s diamond supply until then — nearly two years after the war in Ukraine began on February 24, 2022.
Initial sanctions targeted Russia’s oil and gas industry as well as restricting its banking system and the transfer of funds, while touching on diamonds in an ambiguous way.
Still, diamonds contribute to Russia’s government revenue and therefore to the war effort, causing the sector to be entangled in the sanctions discussion.
The Russian Federation owns a 33% stake in mining company Alrosa, the world’s largest producer of rough diamonds by volume. The company generated rough sales of $4 billion from 45.5 million carats in 2021, the last prewar publication of its earnings.
“The goal of this effort remains centered on reducing revenue that Russia earns from diamonds, which fuels Moscow’s war machine against Ukraine,” the European Commission (EC) stressed in a separate statement, which provided additional details about the sanctions.
Sanctions in place The sanctions will replace existing measures some countries implemented earlier.
The US banned imports of diamonds from Russia in March 2022, but left a loophole allowing for polished stones transformed from Russian rough in third countries. The European Union delayed implementing any restrictions out of concern such measures would place Belgium at a disadvantage in its competition with Dubai — as well as Mumbai and Tel Aviv — for market share as the premier rough-trading center. The United Arab Emirates (UAE), India and Israel have not implemented any restrictions on Russian-origin diamonds, though they export goods to those countries with a ban in place.
An EU-only import ban would not have been efficient, the EC added in its explainer. “It would have meant the death of Antwerp,” said an official who requested anonymity. “What is on the table is the survival of Antwerp.”
Consequently, the EU has been the driving force for a fully coordinated approach and timeline within the G7, the European Commission emphasized.
That effort sees the group phase in various levels of diamond sanctions.
The first stage, which took effect on January 1, banned direct imports of diamonds from Russia. On March 1, the sanctions will be extended to diamonds above 1 carat that were sourced from Russian rough but polished in a third country, addressing the loophole that existed in the original US sanctions. Finally, beginning September 1, the restrictions will include lab-grown diamonds, jewelry, and watches containing diamonds above 0.50 carats.
Traceability component The big challenge lies in how to verify that a diamond is not of Russian origin. To that end, the group will establish a “robust traceability-based verification and certification mechanism for rough diamonds,” which will be mandatory from September 1, the EC said in its statement. A pilot program for the system will begin on March 1, it added.
The idea is to create a digital twin of the real diamond in its rough state and to issue a certificate of the diamond’s origin, the commission explained. It is unclear whether that certificate will be a physical printout — as customs officials are used to — or only digital, noted another European official.
The identifying information and certificate will be entered into a stand-alone blockchain-based ledger, which will be inter-operational with several existing solutions facilitating the traceability mechanism, an EC spokesperson explained in an email.
In other words, there will be a centralized blockchain that will be fed with information from traceability service providers.
“This allows the diamond to be traced through the production process and can be presented at the time of importation of the finished diamond,” the spokesperson said.
The commission did not clarify by press time the criteria service providers will have to meet to contribute to the G7 system, or what information will be uploaded to the centralized ledger. Companies with diamond-related traceability programs include De Beers’ Tracr, Everledger, iTraceiT, the Gemological Institute of America (GIA), and Sarine Technologies.
Industry concerns The certification of goods registered on the ledger will be done in Belgium, with some exceptions being considered, an official noted.
As the only producer country among the G7 nations, Canada may be given the option to certify its own production, the official said. It is also understood that rough earmarked for beneficiation — polishing in the country of mined origin — will be exempt from passing through Belgium to be G7-certified.
De Beers is waiting for clarification on several points, most importantly whether its practice of mixing supply from its mines in Botswana, Canada, Namibia, and South Africa — known as aggregation — will be affected.
“We await clarity on how the new import requirements will be implemented in practice and will urge a sensible and practical approach to implementation that recognizes the fundamental importance of aggregation in delivering value for diamond businesses and producer countries, as well as the significance of beneficiation,” a company spokesperson said.
De Beers’ assortments will still have to be certified in Belgium, but it will be an exception in that these goods will be the only “mixed origin” ones that will be allowed, the official noted.
Yoram Dvash, president of the World Federation of Diamond Bourses (WFDB), urged the G7 to include other centers in the registration process.
It is possible to create “a more efficient and effective mechanism” by allowing other major rough diamond centers such as Dubai, Mumbai, and Tel Aviv, as well as producing countries, to conduct the inspection and registration of goods, Dvash stressed in a statement immediately following the G7 announcement.
The Industry’s Russia Crisis: Formulating Sanctions
Ready for volume Among the concerns expressed have been whether Antwerp can handle the large volumes that are expected to accompany the new mechanism. One representative estimated the system would not result in higher volumes than those with which the Antwerp Diamond Office has dealt in the past. That official referenced 2021 as a comparative base, when Belgium imported 68.1 million carats of rough valued at EUR 6.49 billion ($7.1 billion), and exports reached 90.7 million carats worth EUR 7.48 billion ($8.18 billion), according to data the National Bank of Belgium published.
Before the war in Ukraine, Belgium was the largest buyer of Russian rough, importing 27.1 million carats worth EUR 1.57 billion ($1.72 billion) in 2021 — 24% of its total rough imports by value and 40% by volume (see graph). Excluding the Russian goods will mean Antwerp won’t see a significant spike compared to 2021, the official noted. Belgium’s imports of rough from Russia declined 19% in 2022 and have slumped 76% year on year to just EUR 285.1 million ($311.7 million) in the first nine months of 2023, the National Bank of Belgium data showed.
The bigger question is whether the traceability programs can handle such volumes. To date, adoption within the trade has been minimal and largely driven by retail jewelry brands that require thorough source verification.
“We continue to accelerate development of Tracr and engage with the wider industry as we await further details so that Tracr can support the industry’s needs as best as possible,” a De Beers spokesperson said. “However, we also acknowledge that even Tracr, the world’s most advanced diamond traceability platform, does not yet have the breadth of coverage that would be required to meet the G7 objectives in the stated time frames.”
Sarine recently unveiled its Autoscan Plus system, which it claims can scan 1,000 stones per hour for its Diamond Journey traceability program. Autoscan Plus was built for scale and developed as a smaller, cheaper solution, Sarine CEO David Block said.
Extra cost The Antwerp World Diamond Centre (AWDC), the local trade body that incorporates both government and industry elements and oversees operations of the Diamond Office, is reportedly expanding its capabilities to handle the extra volume.
Still, many in the trade are skeptical whether the industry is ready to implement a digital traceability solution at such a scale. “The government fell for false promises regarding how to work and implement the system,” said one dealer. “Even if it is possible, it will be expensive.”
Early critics of the system have expressed concern about the additional cost of certification and of potential double shipping to Belgium.
“Having only one point for registration and inspection will impose additional costs of time and money to the diamond trade,” the WFDB said. It will lengthen the cycle of trading and getting goods to market, added another dealer.
Vipul Shah, chairman of India’s Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC), expects the move will impact the cost of raw materials for local manufacturers. “We are coordinating with the World Diamond Council [WDC] to mitigate such disruption and cost impact,” he said in an email.
Members of the trade cautioned that the cost of certification may even make Russian goods more attractive, while the market bifurcates to a two-tier system.
De Beers said it wants to understand how risks such as the creation of a potential supply bottle neck and additional costs will be managed if the G7 intends to limit the points of admission of rough diamonds into G7 nations. “We advocate for a solution that facilitates the trade of our diamonds into G7 countries, rather than restricting them,” the De Beers spokesperson stressed.
The EC responded that the cost for certification is expected to be negligible, “especially considering the price of diamonds,” according to its spokesperson. “The fee will be cost-bearing, not designed to generate profits.”
As for the double shipping, officials expect the goods will simply pass through Belgium as the main gateway — instead of other centers — before being sent for manufacturing. The extra shipping cost will likely apply for rough designated for tender sale in other rough-diamond locations such as Dubai and Tel Aviv.
Demand for Diamond Traceability Spikes
Artisanal and cottage industry
While the registration of rough will be overseen by the AWDC at the Diamond Office, it is a government-led mechanism, Rapaport understands. That means that it would be required at the point of export, which is significant when dealing with the artisanal mining sector.
So, if the artisanal miner sells his goods to a buyer in the location of mining, it will be up to the buyer to send the goods to Belgium for registration, an official explained.
Trade bodies, along with De Beers, echoed the WDC’s mantra that “no one should be left behind,” expressing concern that artisanal miners will be at a disadvantage under the new system.
“If such a solution is intended to be fully technological, this would be to the detriment of African producers, artisanal miners and the wider industry, with significant risk of unintended consequences,” the De Beers spokesperson added.
Artisanal and small-scale miners, who typically don’t have access to technology, should be able to send their rough into any cutting center to be registered and certified, trade members wrote in a draft letter being prepared for presentation to the G7, which Rapaport saw.
Similarly, the Indian industry is urging the G7 to take into consideration the interests of small and medium enterprises for whom the adoption of technology to track their polished diamonds might be out of reach at this stage. These marginal diamond units support millions of livelihoods, the GJEPC’s Shah stressed.
EU officials expect the program may even help formalize the artisanal mining sector and motivate investment in that segment — such as among G7 government bodies with an interest to make the traceability mechanism work.
Time to engage
But the system will require extensive engagement with the trade in the next few months to make it work. The industry has many questions and concerns, as communications from the WFDB, GJEPC, De Beers and others revealed. Some queries, such as what to do with existing inventory in the market, require urgent attention.
“I call upon the G7 countries to engage with the industry organizations in order to reach a more equitable and balanced mechanism,” Dvash stressed.
The G7 pledged to continue consultations among its members and with other partners, including producing countries as well as manufacturing countries, “for comprehensive controls for diamonds produced and processed in third countries on measures for traceability.”
It would be surprising if such discussions led to a complete overhaul of the planned system, as the industry might desire. As one trader admitted, the G7 is intent on its implementation, while the US and the EU will use the banks to enforce the sanctions — blocking payments within the pipeline in cases of noncompliance.
The governments charged with developing and implementing the system appear confident they’ve reached the optimal solution.
“This strengthened approach will provide certainty to our citizens and consumers that they are not purchasing Russian diamonds,” the EC spokesperson stressed. “It will also deliver stronger transparency to producers, including in countries with artisanal production. This will positively impact both earnings from diamonds and producers’ story and brand throughout the supply chain.”
It will take a lot of convincing for the trade to adopt such sentiment fully before the traceability pilot program goes into effect on March 1. It seems, at this stage, they’ll have little choice.
Revenue from the Ekati deposit’s rough production soared during the fourth quarter as demand for its goods strengthened, according to owner Burgundy Diamond Mines.
Sales from the Canadian mine rose 37% year on year to $166 million for the three months that ended December 31, Burgundy reported last week. Sales volume jumped 41% to 1.8 million carats, from 1.3 million carats a year before, outweighing a 2% drop in the average price to $93 per carat.
Output increased 19% to 1.2 million carats for the October-to-December period. During the quarter, Burgundy held four auctions, including one for special stones. The miner sold all of its available inventory during those auctions, it noted.
“Each of our four auctions during the December quarter were oversubscribed due to significant customer demand,” said Burgundy CEO Kim Truter. “This has put us in a strong position with a healthy cash balance to fund the upcoming winter-road resupply and to commence the important work activities to extend the mine life at Ekati.”
Burgundy is currently retrieving ore from two sites at Ekati: an open-pit operation at Sable and an underground one at Misery. It is also working on extending Sable underground and is optimizing the Point Lake area.
Burgundy purchased Ekati from Arctic Canadian Diamond Company for $136 million in March.
