Rough Diamond – Page 32 – The Diamond Certification Laboratory of Australia (DCLA)

Lucara finds another big diamond at its Karowe mine in Botswana

Lucara Diamond has unearthed a 123-carat, gem-quality, top white Type II diamond at its Karowe mine, in Botswana, the same operation where it found the largest precious rock ever found in the African country.

The stone was recovered from direct milling ore sourced from the EM/PK(S) unit of the South Lobe, the same area that yielded the famous “Lesedi La Rona.” The giant 1,109 carat diamond, however, was a hard sell for Lucara. Its buyer, Graff Diamonds ended up cutting it into smaller stones.

Karowe, which began commercial operations in 2012, has this year yielded 22 diamonds larger than 100 carats, eight of them exceeding 200 carats.

The mine also yielded the 1,758 carat Sewelô meaning “rare find” diamond, the largest ever recovered in Botswana.

The Vancouver-based company also announced it had recovered a 375 carat gem quality diamond during the processing of historic tailings from the mine. Reprocessing has so far yielded 29 diamonds over 100 carats, Lucara said.

Since the start of the year, the miner has sold 19 diamonds each with an individual price in excess of $1 million at its quarterly tender sales. This includes seven diamonds that fetched more than $2 million each, and one diamond that carried a final price tag of over $8 million.

“Lucara is pleased with the continued strong performance of the mine and the consistent recovery of large, high quality diamonds that contribute more than 70% of Lucara’s total revenues,” CEO Eira Thomas said in a statement.

The company, which has focused efforts on the prolific Botswana mine this year, is close to completing a feasibility study into potential underground production and life of mine expansion at Karowe.

Source: mining.com

In Madhya Pradesh, labourer digs up 2 diamonds in one week

A labourer in Bundelkhand region turned second time lucky when he got another diamond within a week in a piece of land he took on lease from the district administration in Panna district. The value of the diamond is estimated at about Rs 20 lakh, a mineral resources department official said.

The lessee, Kishor Kushwaha, a resident of Sarkoha village got the diamond of 5.69 carat in a field in the area in Panna district. He deposited it with the mineral resources department office on Saturday, said Panna diamond office authority Anupam Singh.

Panna district, 413 km north east of Bhopal in Bundelkhand region, has the only diamond producing mine in the country, which is under operation, as per the department officials.

Panna diamond office authority Anupam Singh said, “The diamond that the lessee has found may get him about Rs 20 lakh on its auction. Earlier, the same person got a diamond of 4.4 carat about a week back, which was, however, of better quality and was valued about at Rs 20 to Rs 25 lakh. The lessee was assisted by three others in his work.”

The labourer got the piece of land on lease on March 1, 2019 and the lease period will expire on December 31, 2019. “It rarely happens when a person gets another diamond twice within a week or so,” he said.

Talking to the media Kishor said, “I am extremely happy that Mother Earth blessed me with this gift of diamonds. I make both ends meet by doing labour work. I will share whatever money I get with my partners Ajay Singh, Mahadev Kushwaha, Purshotam Lal and Vimal who also put in hard labour.”

He said he wanted to spend the money on education of his children.

Source: hindustantimes

De Beers hits a rough patch as diamond sales slide

Diamond purchases at De Beers’ latest sale in Botswana plummeted 44 per cent, as the industry struggles with weaker consumer spending and the rise of lab-grown stones.

The world’s largest diamond miner said on Wednesday that sales of rough diamonds were $280m at last week’s sale compared with $503m in the same period a year ago.

The sharp decline follows another weak sale last month. So far this year, at $2.9bn, De Beers’ rough diamond sales are 26 per cent lower than the $3.9bn recorded at the same time last year. In July, Russian diamond producer Alrosa reported a 51 per cent fall in diamond sales.

“The current malaise in the market is due to oversupply,” said Paul Zimnisky, an analyst in New York, who said diamond buyers had too much inventory.

Macroeconomic uncertainty and, in particular, the trade war between the US and China, the world’s two largest diamond-consuming countries, has fuelled nervousness among wholesalers and retailers.

Diamond buyers, who polish and cut diamonds for retailers, are struggling to make money this year due to lower prices and tighter credit, prompting them to delay purchases.

Tiffany’s on Wednesday reported a 3 per cent decline in like-for-like sales, with the luxury retailer’s chief executive Alessandro Bogliolo warning that unrest in Hong Kong was “taking a toll on our business”, as did a drop in Chinese tourists visiting the US.

Shares in Signet, the world’s largest retailer of diamond jewellery, have fallen more than 60 per cent this year.

Increased sales of lab-grown diamonds, which are chemically identical to traditional stones, are also “taking a very precious piece of the mined industry’s modest growth”, noted Mr Zimnisky.

De Beers has responded by cutting production — with a target of 31m carats this year compared with 35.3m lin 2018 — and pledging to increase the amount of money it spends on marketing diamonds.

Anish Aggarwal, a partner at consulting firm Gemdax, said economic uncertainty was being aggravated by retailers shifting to a “just-in-time” stocking model.

De Beers, which made up around 10 per cent of Anglo-American’s earnings in the first half of this year, sells most of its diamonds to approved customers at 10 “sights” a year in Africa.

As an incentive to buyers, at the latest sale it increased the amount of stones customers were allowed to reject in each lot purchased from 10 per cent to 20 per cent, according to people familiar with the auction.

Source: Financial times

Alrosa recovers Fish-Shaped Diamond

Alrosa’s knack for recovering unusually shaped diamonds has scaled new heights with the discovery of a rough stone resembling a fish.

“In the photo, you see a very rare specimen: a rough-diamond crystal which pretends to be a fish,” the Russian miner wrote in an Instagram post Wednesday announcing the find.

As with its other similar hauls, Alrosa hooked the catch to a marketing goal, using the occasion to emphasize the care it takes to preserve sea life around its mines. Alrosa ecologists release “hundreds of thousands” of fish into rivers in Yakutia and its other mining regions every year, the company explained in the post. In October, it plans to introduce “valuable” broad whitefish into Siberian waters.

Last summer, the company unveiled a rough diamond resembling a soccer ball in the middle of the World Cup taking place in Russia, for which it was a sponsor. The company also found a stone that looked like a skull in time for Halloween, and stumbled upon a heart-shaped piece a few weeks before Valentine’s Day this year.

Source: diamonds.net

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

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

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

Firestone Diamonds recovers largest fancy yellow diamond to date

Firestone Diamonds 54 Carat Fancy Yellow Rough Diamond

Firestone Diamonds has recovered a 54 carat intense fancy yellow, sawable diamond from its Liqhobong mine in Lesotho.

“The Liqhobong mine has become known for its fancy yellow stones but this one is the largest we’ve recovered so far and is therefore quite special,” says Firestone Diamonds CEO Paul Bosma.

Although certain segments of the diamond market are currently struggling, the demand for unique natural stones remains positive,” he says.

The 54 carat diamond will go on sale at the next tender scheduled to take place during September 2019.

The recovery of its latest fancy yellow diamond follows the recovery of a 72 carat diamond which was recovered together with a 22 carat makeable white stone, followed by an 11 carat fancy light-pink stone in April.

Source: miningreview

Miner Petra Diamonds sells its 425 carat legacy diamond

Petra Diamonds said on Tuesday it sold its 425-carat ‘Legacy of the Cullinan Diamond Mine’ diamond to Belgium-based Stargems Group for $15 million.

The miner, which recovered the diamond at its flagship Cullinan mine in March, said the sale was significant for the company.

Petra has been struggling to clear its multi-million-dollar debts after it borrowed heavily to revamp the Cullinan facility and began mining a new section of ore last July.

However, Cullinan has been profitable every year since Petra acquired it in 2008 and the mine is expected to generate free cash flow this year.

Mountain Province Diamonds Announces Inclusion of 60 Carat Fancy Vivid Yellow Rough Diamond in its February Sale

Mountain Province Diamonds Inc today announces that it will include in it its upcoming, February rough diamond sale, an exceptional quality, 60.59 carat, fancy vivid yellow rough diamond. The diamond was recovered at the Company’s Gahcho Kué Mine in October 2018.

Reid Mackie, the Company’s Vice President Diamond Marketing commented “the discovery of this diamond demonstrates our ability to produce very large, high quality, fancy coloured diamonds. We are thrilled to be able to include it in our upcoming sale and present our customers with the opportunity to bid for this important piece of the mine’s history”.

Also included in the sale will be more than 50 other large, high quality white and fancy coloured rough diamonds. Viewings will take place between February 11^th to 21^st at the offices of Bonas-Couzyn in Antwerp, Belgium.

Mountain Province’s Gahcho Kué Mine, located at the edge of Canada’s Arctic Circle, is the world’s largest and richest new diamond mine and since the start of production in late 2016 has established itself as a regular producer of exceptional, gem quality, large diamonds. In 2018, Mountain Province sold more than 400 individual diamonds larger than 10.8 carats.

Source: prnewswire

Low Prices Trigger A Four-Way Merger Proposal For African Diamond Miners

Tough times in some parts of the diamond-mining industry has prompted an innovative solution, a four-way merger to create a new southern African diamond specialist.

The proposal, from the London office of the German bank, Berenberg, could see Gem Diamonds, Petra Diamonds, Lucara Diamond Corporation and Firestone Diamonds emerge as a single business with enhanced financial metrics courtesy of cost savings and a focus on big, high-quality gems.

If the deal happens, and at this stage it is just a proposal from Berenberg and not something the diamond-miners have embraced, the new business would have mines in South Africa, Botswana, Tanzania and Lesotho.

3% By Volume, 8% by Value

Collective diamond production would total five million carats a year, which is equivalent to 3% of global output, but more importantly the proposed business would account for 8% of diamond supply by value.

The difference between volume and value is the key to Berenberg’s plan which has been published at a time when miners of small and low-grade diamonds are battling a flooded market whereas companies able to supply high-quality gems are generating strong profits.

An uncut 25 carat diamond mined in Botswana.

Values At Trough Levels

Berenberg said in a research report titled “Consolidating African diamond mining” that current valuations of diamond mining companies were at trough levels with lacklustre enthusiasm for the sector.

“We think something new is needed to return this sector to its former glory,” Berenberg said.

The bank said the logical way to start the process would be for a transaction between Lucara and Gem, which would create the go-to business for large diamonds, followed by a transaction with Petra and then with Firestone rolled into the structure.

Each company has its own production profile but Lucara is the best known for big diamonds having given the world the monster Lesedi La Rona in 2015, an 1109 carat stone which sold for $53 million and has since been cut into 67 smaller gems by Graf Diamonds.

Strong Cash Flow

According to Berenberg’s multi-stage merger proposal the new business would emerge with annual revenue of around $1.1 billion and free cash flow of $200 million.

The merged business would overcome problems which hurt investor interest in smaller diamond miners including low stock-market value, high debt levels, project risk, limited growth options and a lack of return to shareholders.

“Our $1.3 billion market capitalization business would have listings in Canada, London and Sweden and, through the ability to pay an attractive dividend (we calculate a possible yield of 7%-to-8%) and the potential to attract investment from a range of global investors,” Berenberg said.

Source: Forbes