De Beers is planning to add the world’s largest custom built diamond mining vessel to its fleet at a cost of $142 million.
The ship will be the sixth belonging to Debmarine Namibia, a 50/50 joint venture between the miner and the Republic of Namibia, De Beers said Tuesday. Expected to begin operations in 2021, it will enhance the company’s ability to recover diamonds off the southern African country’s Atlantic coast, the rough producer added.
“There is a great amount of potential in Namibia’s marine diamond deposits, and this new vessel will support our strategy to continue to grow our offshore operations,” said De Beers CEO Bruce Cleaver.
Earlier this year, De Beers launched the MV SS Nujoma, the world’s largest diamond sampling and exploration vessel. Acquiring the new ship will help the company capitalize on that vessel’s work, and support the long-term future of Namibia’s diamond sector, Cleaver added.
Kleven Verft, a Norwegian ship-building company that constructed the Nujoma, will also build the new vessel, and has signed a memorandum of understanding with De Beers.
Dealers reported a difficult but stable rough market as De Beers’ November sight closed with a value of $455 million — 4% lower than the same period a year ago.
The rough market improved slightly from the October sight, which was the smallest sale of the year as Indian manufacturing slowed for Diwali. However, sightholders still noted weak profitability on De Beers goods during November, with premiums on the secondary market close to zero.
Most boxes of diamonds from last week’s sight commanded prices on the dealer market that did not cover the costs of doing deals, explained Dudu Harari of diamond broker Bluedax in a report on the sight.
Due to resources dwindling Beers’ joint ventures will close four diamond mines by 2022.
Namdeb is a DeBeers project with the government of Namibia, Will close the Elizabeth Bay mine at the end of 2018 followed by the Daberas deposit at the end of 2019 and Sendelingsdrif in 2020. The main asset Southern Coastal will close in 2022.
Production saw a shift to offshore assets this past year. For the first nine months of 2017, Debmarine’s production surged 22% to 1.1 million carats.
Subdued world economic growth will make the next few years challenging, mainly due to negative impacts forecast in exchange rates and other indices.
More trouble for diamond miner Petra Diamonds yesterday after it warned it is heading into financial trouble with its lenders.
Petra has borrowed heavily to expand its operations in the country. The company is now likely to breach its banking covenants at the end of the year, because of the row with the government in Tanzania. As well as strikes at three of its mines in South Africa.
Petra diamonds is known for the size and quality of the diamonds produced at the famous Cullinan mine outside of Pretoria in South Africa.
De Beers marketing spend this years is more than $140 million, This is the biggest De Beers push in a decade.
The marketing will focus on increasing consumer demand for diamond jewellery in US, China and Indian markets.
The De Beers brands, Forevermark and De Beers Diamond Jewellers. Will receive the most funding, But Debeers will also increase its contributions to the Diamond Producers Association and India’s Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council.
Stephen Lussier, De Beers’ executive vice president of marketing and CEO of Forevermark. Said the consumer expenditure for diamond jewellery over the past five years collectively has been the highest on record. and this made the outlook positive.
There are a number of ways to verify that your diamond matches the diamond certificate it is purchased with. If you purchased a diamond that is laser inscribed, ask your jeweller to show you the laser inscription under magnification. This way, you will always be able to identify the diamond as your own.
DCLA also performs a verification service, for both DCLA certified diamonds and for diamonds certified by other internationally recognised laboratories. Bring or send your diamond, together with the diamond grading certificate, to the DCLA laboratory and the diamond will be conclusively matched against the certificate. DCLA can then cold laser inscribe the diamond with either the diamond grading certificate number, or with a personalised message.
Ask the jeweller if the diamond certificate comes from an independent diamond laboratory or if it produced by a diamond merchant or retailer, then do your research. Make sure the certificate is issued by the DCLA or another highly respected diamond grading laboratory; DCLA is the only diamond grading laboratory worldwide to offer a full-replacement Diamond Grading Guarantee.
Anglo American’s De Beers, the world’s largest rough diamond producer by value, has decided to begin selling its own polished diamonds in auctions for the first time in its history.
The pilot auction, scheduled for June, will include a wide range of polished stones manufactured directly from the company’s own rough diamonds.
"The pilot auction, scheduled for June 29, will include a wide range of polished stones manufactured directly from De Beer’s own rough diamonds." All the polished rocks will carry grading reports from both the International Institute of Diamond Grading & Research (IIDGR) — De Beers’ in-house grading unit — and the Gemological Institute of America (GIA).
“We are interested in testing the level of demand from polished buyers for diamonds that have a clear and attractive source of origin, and that offer the assurance of product integrity that dual certification provides,” Neil Ventura, the miner’s executive vice president of auction sales, said in the statement.
If successful, the process would provide De Beers with more insight into the polished market, while also helping consumers fill gaps in supply or inventory if they were unable to find goods at the company’s rough auctions, he added.
All registered De Beers auction buyers will be eligible to bid in the first sale, which takes place on June 29.
Petra Diamonds announced that it had recovered a 138.57-carat, Type IIa, D-colour diamond at its historic Cullinan mine near Pretoria in South Africa. The company said the diamond would be offered for sale in Johannesburg later this month.
The Blue Moon Diamond has been sold for a record US$48.26m at Sotheby’s in Geneva.
The sale price is a record per carat and for total value for any gemstone.
Blue Moon Diamond has no inclusions and has been officially declared flawless.
The 29.62-carat diamond was found at the Cullinan Mine in South Africa in January last year, blue diamonds make up only 0.1% of diamonds unearthed at the mine.
It was then cut and polished in New York, a process which took six months and eventually produced the 12.03 carat vivid blue gem.
