Rough Diamond – Page 35 – The Diamond Certification Laboratory of Australia (DCLA)

Gem Diamonds ramps up production in Lesotho

Gem Diamonds announced Thursday that the company produced 29,010 carats at its Letšeng mine in Lesotho, which is 11% more than in Q1 2020 – 26,110 carats.

The company’s revenue for the period was US$43.9 million Q1 2020 – US$47.3 million and an average price achieved for the period was US$1,630 per carat Q1 2020 – US$1,615 per carat.

The company said that 5 diamonds sold for more than US$1.0 million each, generating revenue of US$12.4 million during the period.

The group ended the period with US$26.9 million of cash on hand excluding US$8.2 million of the March tender proceeds received after the period end. During the period, Letšeng paid the remaining dividend of US$10.0 million which was declared in 2020.

CEO Clifford Elphick commented, “It is pleasing to see that carat production during the period was up some 11% on the same period in 2020 and that the average price of US$1,630 per carat was also slightly up on Q1 2020. Although the production from the mining mix was not as impressive as the second half of 2020, with fewer large diamonds recovered due to the areas accessed under the mining plan, prices achieved on a like for like basis remained strong for Letšeng’s high value diamond production.”

The company said it anticipates that the mining mix should improve over the coming months as the richer parts of the Satellite pit are accessed in accordance with the mine plan.

Gem Diamonds is a leading global diamond producer of large high value diamonds. The company owns 70% of the Letšeng mine in Lesotho and is currently in the process of selling its 100% share of the Ghaghoo mine in Botswana. The Letšeng mine is famous for the production of large, exceptional white diamonds, making it the highest dollar per carat kimberlite diamond mine in the world.

Source: Vladimir Basov Kitco

Lucapa recovers third 100+ carat diamond for 2021

114-carat white diamond recovered at Lulo

Lucapa Diamond Company has discovered a 114-carat white diamond from the Lulo alluvial diamond mine in Angola, Africa.

The 114-carat Type IIa D-colour white diamond is the third diamond mined from Lulo’s mining block 46 (MB46) in the last eight weeks.

Lucapa managing director Stephen Wetherall said block 46 was the best mined block to date.

Lucapa stated that the new discovery demonstrated the value of Lulo’s Canguige catchment and its adjacent kimberlites.

“To date, MB46 has averaged one 100-plus carat diamond recovered for every ~33,000 billion cubic metres of gravel processed. This is the best occurrence rate for any block mined to date at Lulo, including the prolific MB08,” Lucapa stated.

The 114 carat diamond is the 19th 100-plus carat diamond recovered from Lulo.

Lucapa started commercial diamond production at the site in 2015.

The recovery follows Lucapa’s announcement of discovering a 215-carat diamond from its Mothae kimberlite mine in Lesotho, Africa this week.

Lucapa plans to expand Mothae to a 1.6 million tonnes a year processing capacity, a 45 per cent increase from its current rate.

Source: australianmining

Tax Authorities to Return a Million Rough Diamonds from Raids

A million rough diamonds seized in raids by the Indian tax authorities on the scanning firm Diyora & Bhanderi are to be returned to their owners.

The company is being investigated over claims of tax evasion and the illegal sale of diamond scanning machines. Its premises in Surat were raided 10 days ago.

Gems belonging to over 800 diamond firms, which had been sent to Diyora & Bhanderi Corporation (DBC) for rough scanning, were seized, along with large quantities of cash.

The Surat income tax authorities responded on Friday to representations by the Southern Gujarat Chamber of Commerce and Industry that diamantaires should have their gems returned, as long as they can provide the proper paperwork.

Meanwhile, Sarine, the Israel-based diamond tech firm, accuses DBC of copying the industry-standard Galaxy inclusion mapping software used by its rough diamond scanning machines and is taking action through the High Court of Gujarat, in Ahmedabad.

Source: IDEX Online

Lucapa 100 carat diamond bonanza continues

Lucapa Diamond Company has recovered the 16th 100 plus carat diamond from the Lulo alluvial mine in Angola, Africa.

The 127 carat gem quality white stone is the third 100 plus carat diamond delivered this year.

Lucapa recovered the stone from the flood plain area in Mining Block 24 the first 100 plus carat diamond produced in this mining block.

It was found during Lucapa’s dry season operations.

“The recovery of this 127 carat stone, which is Lulo’s 16th 100 plus carat diamond recovered, continues to showcase the exceptional nature of the lulo alluvial deposit and highlights the potential of the mining campaign planned for these previously untouched and expansive leziria areas along the Cacuilo River,” Lucapa managing director Stephen Wetherall said.

The discovery was preceded by a 46 carat pink coloured diamond recovered at the Lulo mine last week. It was cut and polished into three diamonds.

Meanwhile, the largest stone in carat found at Lulo was a 404 carat diamond the largest recorded gem in Angola, which was discovered in 2016.

Source: australianmining

Rio Tinto asks court to OK sale of partner’s diamonds in Canada mine

Global miner Rio Tinto is seeking court approval to sell its partner’s share of diamonds from a mine in Canada’s Northwest Territories, a filing showed, hoping to recover around C$120-million plus legal fees and other costs.

Rio owns 60% of Diavik Diamond Mines Inc (DDMI) and says it is owed C$119.5-million plus about C$2.4-million in fees by junior partner Dominion Diamond.

Dominion holds a 40% stake in the northern mine, located about 300 km north of the territorial capital of Yellowknife.

Closely held Dominion sought creditor protection in April, saying it could not afford Rio’s cash calls amid coronavirus-related disruptions in the global diamond industry.

Dominion said October 9 a proposed deal to sell its nearby Ekati mine to an affiliate of its parent company The Washington Companies for $126-million fell apart. That deal did not include its minority Diavik stake.

DDMI said in court filings that Dominion has not repaid cover payments and “has no intention of doing so” and that it would be “unjust and inequitable” to not permit DDMI to recover the amounts owing to it in accordance with its joint venture agreement.

“We remain focused on ensuring Diavik diamond mine continues to operate safely, maintaining the mine’s significant contribution to the Northwest Territories and local communities through payments to government, employees and suppliers,” a spokesman for Diavik said on Friday.

A court hearing on the application is set for October 30 in Calgary, Alberta.

Diavik produced 6.7-million carats in 2019 but is scheduled to close in 2025, with cleanup costs estimated at $365.3-million, according to court documents.

Dominion declined comment on the fate of its Diavik stake. Rio has said it will not bid on the minority interest.

Source: miningweekly

India Says Slump in Diamond Exports Is Much Worse Than 2008

Diamond exports from India, which polishes about 90% of the world’s rough diamonds, will collapse by as much as a quarter this year as the pandemic crushes demand and breaks supply chains.

Overseas sales of cut and polished diamonds may slump 20% to 25% in the year ending March from $18.66 billion last year, according to Colin Shah, chairman of the Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council. That will push exports to the lowest in data going back to the 2009 fiscal year on the association’s website.

“In 2008, things were bad for a quarter and business recovered after that,” Shah said in an interview. “This is now two quarters gone.” While festivals such as Diwali, Christmas and Valentine’s Day will prop up demand in the next six months, that won’t be enough to lift full-year exports, he said.

Losing Luster

India imposed one of the world’s strictest lockdowns in March to contain the coronavirus outbreak. That brought activity to a halt and put the economy on course for its first annual contraction in more than four decades. With more than 7 million infections, the country is one of the world’s virus hot spots.

The measures to control the pandemic meant production centers were closed or operating at very low levels, and rough-diamond imports fell in line with poor end-product demand. The country’s diamond exports sank 37% to $5.5 billion in the six months through September from the year-earlier period.

Workers have now started returning to the diamond-polishing hubs of Surat, Mumbai and Kolkata, and factories are operating at 70% to 80% of capacity with social-distancing norms in place, Shah said. Still, it’s difficult to predict global supply chains as rules to control the virus change frequently, he said.

Uneven Recovery

The International Monetary Fund warned this week the world economy faces an uneven recovery until the virus is tamed. Chinese consumers are starting to spend again, while in Europe, the luxury sector is back near pre-pandemic levels despite a surge in Covid-19 cases that’s hurting normal tourism.

De Beers sold about $467 million of rough diamonds in its eighth sales cycle of 2020, Anglo American Plc said Wednesday. Sales improved compared with $334 million in the previous cycle, and $297 million during the same cycle in 2019.

“We continue to see a steady improvement in demand for rough diamonds in the eighth sales cycle of the year, with cutters and polishers increasing their purchases,” said Bruce Cleaver, chief executive officer of De Beers. “But these are still early days and there is a long way to go before we can be sure of a sustained recovery in trading conditions.”

Source: bloomberg

De Beers sales show steady recovery in diamond market

De Beers, the world’s largest diamond producer by value, said on Wednesday that its latest sale of roughs yielded 40% more revenue than the seventh cycle, which already was more successful than the previous event.

The Anglo American unit, which sells diamonds to a handpicked group of about 80 buyers 10 times a year at events called “sights”, sold $467 million worth of rough diamonds in the eighth cycle, compared to $320 in the previous one.

The results bring De Beers’ total revenue from rough diamonds in the second half of 2020 to more than $900 million.

De Beers’ chief executive Bruce Cleaver said that while the demand increase was encouraging, it was too early to be sure of a sustained recovery in trading conditions.

“We continue to see a steady improvement in demand for rough diamonds in the eighth sales cycle of the year, with cutters and polishers increasing their purchases as retail orders come through ahead of the key holiday season,” Cleaver said in the statement.

The strong figures are further evidence of improving demand for rough diamonds, according to said BMO analyst Edward Sterck. He warned, however, that there is a significant accumulation of upstream diamond inventories, which could suppress the recovery if liquidated too soon and too quickly.

“Maintaining good diamond prices through the recovery will depend upon the pace at which the inventory is unwound, with De Beers and Alrosa holding the keys to the bulk of this inventory,” Sterck wrote in a note to investors.

The analyst also said the fact De Beers only provided a revenue figure meant it was unable to gauge how prices were trending.

Lower prices, more flexibility
De Beers has continued to implement a more flexible approach to sales during the sixth and seventh sales cycles of the year, as a result of restrictions triggered by the pandemic.

The usual week-long sight holder events have been extended towards near-continuous sales.

It has also cut prices of its stones, sometimes by almost 10% for larger diamonds, in an effort to spark sales.

Before the price reduction, De Beers had made major concessions to their normal sales rules — allowing customers to renege on contracts and view diamonds in alternative locations.

Along with Russia’s Alrosa, the world’s top diamond producer by output, it has also axed supply of roughs to the market, but built up their own stockpiles.

The diamond giant noted that despite ongoing efforts, it expected it would take “some time” to get back to pre-pandemic levels of demand.

De Beers and Alrosa’s view is shared by many in the industry. India, which polishes about 90% of the world’s rough diamonds, expect the slump in exports to be worse this year than in 2008.

Colin Shah, chairman of the Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council, told Bloomberg News on Wednesday that overseas sales of cut and polished diamonds may slump 20% to 25% in the year ending March from $18.66 billion last year.

Source: mining.com

HB Antwerp Buys Sightholder’s Cutting Factory

HB Antwerp has acquired the manufacturing facility of Belgian large-stone specialist AMC Diamonds, gaining 13 employees alongside the company’s machinery and technology.

“With this acquisition, HB Antwerp confirms its ambition to bring the diamond-polishing process back to Antwerp in its entirety by combining the typical Antwerp savoir faire with the latest techniques in the field of laser technology, blockchain and [artificial intelligence],” a spokesperson for HB said.

Two-thirds of HB’s workforce now comprises technicians such as diamond polishers, software engineers and mechanical engineers, the company explained. It plans to carry out more recruitment in the coming months, HB added.

AMC, a De Beers sightholder, will maintain this status, and still has manufacturing facilities, a spokesperson for the company noted.

HB, which diamantaire Oded Mansori cofounded, partnered with Louis Vuitton earlier this year to buy the 1,758-carat Sewelô diamond from Lucara Diamond Corp. It also agreed to purchase all of Lucara’s rough over 10.8 carats through the end of 2020.

It since hired Boaz Lev from Malca-Amit as operations director and one of its managing partners, and hired former Antwerp World Diamond Centre spokesperson Margaux Donckier as director of communications and external affairs.

Source: Diamonds.net

De Beers sales hint diamond market has bottomed out

De Beers thinks the recovery is at an early stage and that it will take some time to get back to pre-pandemic levels of demand. (Image courtesy of De Beers Group.)
De Beers, the world’s largest diamond producer by value, revealed on Friday it made about three times as much in sales of roughs in the seventh sales cycle of the year as it did in the previous event.

The Anglo American unit, which sells diamonds to a handpicked group of about 80 buyers 10 times a year at events called sights, sold $320 million worth of rough diamonds in the seventh cycle. That compares to the $116 million fetched in the previous sight and is not far behind the $400 million De Beers sold on average each month last year.

The results, said BMO Analyst Edward Sterck, show the diamond market may have bottomed out and be on the slow road to recovery.

“Whilst the market has been defibrillated, we think it will remain in intensive care for some time, although any improvement is good news for the smaller pure play producers with weak balance sheets,” Sterck said in a note to investors.

De Beers chief executive Bruce Cleaver showed mild optimism, saying the recovery was at an early stage.

“The company, however, expects further market improvement as covid-19 restrictions continued to ease in various locations and manufacturers focus on meeting retail demand for polished diamonds,” Cleaver said in the statement.

The executive said that overall industry sentiment has become more positive as jewellers in the key markets, such as the US and China, gained confidence ahead of the important year-end holiday season.

The usual week long sight holder events have been extended towards near-continuous sales.

It has also cut prices of its stones, sometimes by almost 10% for larger diamonds, in an effort to spark sales.

Before the price reduction, De Beers had made major concessions to their normal sales rules allowing customers to renege on contracts and view diamonds in alternative locations.

Along with Russia’s Alrosa, the world’s top diamond producer by output, it has also axed supply of roughs to the market, but built up their own stockpiles.

The diamond giant noted that despite ongoing efforts, it expected it would take “some time” to get back to pre-pandemic levels of demand.

Source: mining.com

Researchers use ‘superdeep’ diamonds to shed light on Earth’s inner workings

In a new study led by a University of Alberta PhD student, researchers used diamonds as breadcrumbs to provide insight into some of Earth’s deepest geologic mechanisms.

“Geologists have recently come to the realization that some of the largest, most valuable diamonds are from the deepest portions of our planet,” said Margo Regier, a PhD student in the Faculty of Science under the supervision of Graham Pearson and Thomas Stachel. “While we are not yet certain why diamonds can grow to larger sizes at these depths, we propose a model where these ‘superdeep’ diamonds crystallize from carbon-rich magmas, which may be critical for them to grow to their large sizes.”

Beyond their beauty and industrial applications, diamonds provide unique windows into the deep Earth, allowing scientists to examine the transport of carbon through the mantle.

“The vast majority of Earth’s carbon is actually stored in its silicate mantle, not in the atmosphere,” Regier explained. “If we are to fully understand Earth’s whole carbon cycle, we need to understand this vast reservoir of carbon deep underground.”

The study revealed that the carbon-rich oceanic crust that sinks into the deep mantle releases most of its carbon before it gets to the deepest portion of the mantle. That means most carbon is recycled back to the surface, and only small amounts are stored in the deep mantle—which has significant implications for how scientists understand the Earth’s carbon cycle.

The mechanism is important to understand for a number of reasons, Regier noted.

“The movement of carbon between the surface and mantle affects Earth’s climate, the composition of its atmosphere and the production of magma from volcanoes,” said Regier.

“We do not yet understand if this carbon cycle has changed over time, nor do we know how much carbon is stored in the deepest parts of our planet. If we want to understand why our planet has evolved into its habitable state today and how the surfaces and atmospheres of other planets may be shaped by their interior processes, we need to better understand these variables.”

The study was made possible through a collaboration between researchers at the U of A and the University of Glasgow, including Jeff Harris, who collected the diamond samples. Support through federal funding from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, through the Diamond Exploration Research Training School at the U of A, was also integral in enabling the research.

The study, “The Lithospheric to Lower Mantle Carbon Cycle Recorded in Superdeep Diamonds,” was published in Nature.

/University of Alberta Release. The material in this public release comes from the originating organization and may be of a point-in-time nature, edited for clarity, style and length. View in full here.
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Source: miragenews