Africa focused Gem Diamonds has found a 129 carat rough stone at its Letšeng mine in Lesotho, the miner’s first one over 100 carats mined this year.
The high quality white diamond was recovered at the site over the weekend, Gem Diamonds said. The company, known for the recovery of large, high quality stones in 2020, has seen output of those diamonds become less frequent over the past year.
In 2021, Gem Diamonds found only six diamonds over 100 carats at Letšeng. This compares to 16 rocks of more than 100 carats discovered in 2020.
The find comes as prices for small diamonds have jumped about 20% since the start of March, as cutters, polishers and traders struggle to source stones outside Russia.
State-owned Alrosa, the world’s top diamond producer by output, was hit with US sanctions following Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.
Higher prices for lower end stones are good news for miners, but not a game changer, experts say. While every mine is different, a general rule of thumb is that 20% of production the best stones account for about 80% of profits.
Since acquiring Letšeng in 2006, Gem Diamonds has found more than 60 white gem quality diamonds over 100 carats each.
Since acquiring Letšeng in 2006, the company has found more than 60 white gem quality diamonds over 100 carats each, with 16 of them recovered last year.
At an average elevation of 3,100 metres (10,000 feet) above sea level, Letšeng is also one of the world’s highest diamond mines.
Lucapa Diamond Company yesterday announced the recovery of a 204 carat diamond from the Mothae mine in Lesotho.
According to the company’s statement, the 204 carat white stone is the eighth +100 carat diamond and third +200 carat to be recovered from the Mothae mine since commercial mining commenced in January 2019, underlining its unique large stone nature.
Lucapa Diamond Company is an ASX listed diamond miner and explorer with assets in Africa and Australia. It has interests in two producing diamond mines in Angola (Lulo) and Lesotho (Mothae).
“The large, high-value diamonds produced from these two niche African diamond mines attract some of the highest prices per carat for rough diamonds globally,” the company said.
The Lulo mine has been in commercial production since 2015, while the Mothae mine commenced commercial production in 2019.
Botswana, Africa’s top diamond producer, sees a prolonged ban on Russian diamonds opening the way for synthetic gems to expand market share, the country’s minister told a mining conference on Monday.
The United States, the world’s largest market for natural diamonds, imposed sanctions on Russia’s state-controlled Alrosa in April, aiming to cut off a source of revenue for Moscow after its February invasion of Ukraine.
Alrosa, the world’s largest producer of rough diamonds, accounted for about 30% of global output in 2021.
Botswana’s Minister of Minerals and Energy Lefoko Moagi said the ban on Russia diamonds might push prices up to the benefit of rival producers but he also said the gap would be hard to fill.
“We see the 30% gap that will be left by the ban being plugged by something else that is not natural. And for us that will be a challenge,” he said.
Jacob Thamage, head of Botswana’s Diamond Hub, said uncertainty over the Ukraine conflict makes it difficult for Botswana and other natural diamond miners to fill the supply gap as ramping up operations requires significant investment.
“You don’t want to invest a lot of money to up-scale and then the war ends the next day,” Thamage said. “We also see the higher prices pushing consumers to substitutes such as the synthetics and this can cause problems for us if we cede the market to unnatural stones.”
Sales at Debswana, a joint venture between Anglo American unit De Beers and Botswana’s government, accounts for almost all of Botswana diamonds exports. These stood at $3.466 billion in 2021 compared with $2.120 billion in 2020.
Thamage also fears that consumers might start to shun natural diamonds due to traceability issues.
“There is an increased fear that buyers of diamonds will begin to treat all natural diamonds as conflict diamonds and therefore shift to unnatural diamonds,” he said.
he largest white diamond to ever come up for auction has been sold for $21.9 million USD at Christie’s in Geneva. The 228.31-carat, pear shaped gemstone dubbed “The Rock” originated from South Africa, where some of the largest diamonds in the world have been found, including the pear-shaped “Star of Africa” and rose cushion cut “Golden Jubilee.” “The Rock” is about the size of a golf ball and was previously worn as a lavish Cartier necklace by its former owner. Along with the pear-shaped stone, the new owner will also receive a round diamond and platinum pendant mounting from the French luxury brand. World’s largest blue diamond to come to auction has sold for $57.5 million Ahead of the sale, the head of Christie’s jewelry department in Geneva, Max Fawcett, explained why “The Rock” is a particularly unique stone. “Often with these largest stones, they sacrifice some of the shape in order to keep the weight,” he told Reuters. “This is a perfectly symmetrical pear-shape form and… one of the rarest gems ever to be sold at auction.”
Endiama, which holds the exclusive concession for diamond mining rights in Angola, has already flagged an almost one-third reduction in diamond output this year.
Angola’s state-run diamond miner Endiama could face a hit to its operations as Western sanctions on Russia could delay supplies of parts and machinery, according to a government brochure.
The government publication was made available at the Mining Indaba conference in Cape Town on Monday.
Western nations have unleashed crippling economic sanctions against Russia after Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine in late February.
Endiama, which holds the exclusive concession for diamond mining rights in Angola, has already flagged an almost one-third reduction in diamond output to 10.05 million carats this year, from a forecast 13.8 million carats.
The company expects revenue of about $1.42bn from the sale of its diamonds this year.
“One of the great challenges for 2022 will certainly be to maintain the sustainability of the mines while the war between Russia and Ukraine lasts,” said the government brochure, “since the sanctions that the United States and Western countries have imposed on Russia may affect some national mining companies, delaying the supply of some machinery, parts and spares.”
Endiama has signed contracts with Rio Tinto to explore its Chiri mine in the Angolan province of Lunda Norte, while another project, Luaxe, was also expected to begin pilot production, it added, without providing a timeline.
Last month, diamond miner De Beers signed two mineral investment contracts with the Angolan government, the Anglo American subsidiary said ahead of a return to the country it left in 2012.
Gem Diamonds’ revenue in Q1 2022 (ending March 2022) has gone up 4% quarter-on-quarter and 19% year-on-year to $52.1 million, IDEX Online reports.
The miner, which owns 70% of the Letseng mine in Lesotho, sold 28,461 carats during the quarter – a rise when compared to the 24,790 carats it sold in the previous quarter. However, prices fell from $2,018 to $1,831, according to the report.
Clifford Elphick, Gem Diamonds’ CEO, said: “We remain confident about the outlook for diamond prices, particularly for Letseng’s large high-value diamonds with an average price of $1,831 per carat achieved during the period. Prices achieved on a like-for-like basis continued the largely upward trend from 2021.”
A farmer in Madhya Pradesh had a great stroke of luck as he stumbled upon a 11.88 carat good quality diamond in a small, leased mine in Panna, famous for diamond mines. The small-time farmer, Pratap Singh Yadav, who also works as a labourer, found this diamond from a mine in Patti area in the district, diamond officer Ravi Patel told reporters on Wednesday.
This good quality diamond will be put up for sale in the upcoming auction and the price will be fixed as per the government guidelines.
Talking to reporters, Mr Yadav said, “I am a poor man with a small agricultural land. I also work as a labourer. I have been working hard in this mine for the past three months and got this diamond and deposited it to the Diamond Office.” The money received from the auction of this diamond will be used for setting up a business and to fund the education of his children.
According to private estimates, the diamond may fetch more than ₹ 50 lakh at the auction.
Luck Shines On Madhya Pradesh Farmer As He Mines Almost 12 Carat Diamond The Panna district is estimated to have diamond reserves of 12 lakh carats.
Panna, Madhya Pradesh: A farmer in Madhya Pradesh had a great stroke of luck as he stumbled upon a 11.88 carat good quality diamond in a small, leased mine in Panna, famous for diamond mines. The small-time farmer, Pratap Singh Yadav, who also works as a labourer, found this diamond from a mine in Patti area in the district, diamond officer Ravi Patel told reporters on Wednesday.
This good quality diamond will be put up for sale in the upcoming auction and the price will be fixed as per the government guidelines.
Talking to reporters, Mr Yadav said, “I am a poor man with a small agricultural land. I also work as a labourer. I have been working hard in this mine for the past three months and got this diamond and deposited it to the Diamond Office.” The money received from the auction of this diamond will be used for setting up a business and to fund the education of his children.
According to private estimates, the diamond may fetch more than ₹ 50 lakh at the auction.
Luck Shines On Madhya Pradesh Farmer As He Mines Almost 12 Carat Diamond The Panna district is estimated to have diamond reserves of 12 lakh carats.
Panna, Madhya Pradesh: A farmer in Madhya Pradesh had a great stroke of luck as he stumbled upon a 11.88 carat good quality diamond in a small, leased mine in Panna, famous for diamond mines. The small-time farmer, Pratap Singh Yadav, who also works as a labourer, found this diamond from a mine in Patti area in the district, diamond officer Ravi Patel told reporters on Wednesday.
This good quality diamond will be put up for sale in the upcoming auction and the price will be fixed as per the government guidelines.
Talking to reporters, Mr Yadav said, “I am a poor man with a small agricultural land. I also work as a labourer. I have been working hard in this mine for the past three months and got this diamond and deposited it to the Diamond Office.” The money received from the auction of this diamond will be used for setting up a business and to fund the education of his children.
According to private estimates, the diamond may fetch more than ₹ 50 lakh at the auction.
Officials said that the raw diamond would be auctioned and the proceeds would be given to the farmer after deduction of the government royalty and taxes.
Luck Shines On Madhya Pradesh Farmer As He Mines Almost 12 Carat Diamond The Panna district is estimated to have diamond reserves of 12 lakh carats.
Panna, Madhya Pradesh: A farmer in Madhya Pradesh had a great stroke of luck as he stumbled upon a 11.88 carat good quality diamond in a small, leased mine in Panna, famous for diamond mines. The small-time farmer, Pratap Singh Yadav, who also works as a labourer, found this diamond from a mine in Patti area in the district, diamond officer Ravi Patel told reporters on Wednesday.
This good quality diamond will be put up for sale in the upcoming auction and the price will be fixed as per the government guidelines.
Talking to reporters, Mr Yadav said, “I am a poor man with a small agricultural land. I also work as a labourer. I have been working hard in this mine for the past three months and got this diamond and deposited it to the Diamond Office.” The money received from the auction of this diamond will be used for setting up a business and to fund the education of his children.
According to private estimates, the diamond may fetch more than ₹ 50 lakh at the auction.
Officials said that the raw diamond would be auctioned and the proceeds would be given to the farmer after deduction of the government royalty and taxes.
Panna district is estimated to have diamond reserves of 12 lakh carats.
Christie’s will offer a 103.49-carat diamond that could fetch up to $18 million at its upcoming New York sale.
The emerald-cut, D-Flawless, type IIa stone, called the Light of Africa diamond, will headline the auction house’s Magnificent Jewels sale on June 8, it said Monday. It will be among the items featured as part of Christie’s luxury week.
The diamond was cut from a 299.3-carat rough Petra Diamonds recovered from its Cullinan mine in South Africa in January 2021. Petra then sold the diamond to Dubai-based diamond-sourcing and supply company Stargems DMCC in March of that year for $12.18 million. It is the third-largest high-quality white diamond recovered from Cullinan since Petra acquired it in 2008, the miner noted.
Christie’s will preview the diamond in Geneva from May 6 to 11, followed by Hong Kong from May 22 to 24, before showing it in New York between June 3 and 7.
Star Diamond has completed a study into the abundance of Type IIa diamonds in parcels recovered from the Early Joli Fou geological units at the Orion North (K120, K147 and K148) and Taurus kimberlites (K118, K122 and K150).
The pipes are located within the Fort a la Corne diamond district of central Saskatchewan, including the Star–Orion South diamond project, on properties held in a joint venture with Rio Tinto Exploration Canada.
These diamond parcels were recovered by Star Diamond between 2006 and 2008 from 120-cm diameter drilling programs. The latest study confirms that unusually high proportions of Type IIa diamonds are present in both the Orion North and Taurus kimberlites.
Of particular note is the high proportion of Type IIa diamonds in the Orion North 147-148 EJF (52%), of which 66% of the 24 stones, 0.66 carats and above are Type IIa. The largest Type IIa diamond identified was a 6.88-carat stone from Orion North (K147-K148 EJF).
Senior technical advisor George Read said that the Type IIa diamonds at Orion North and Taurus are top white in colour, Type IIa diamonds are rare and account for less than 2% of all natural rough diamonds mined from kimberlites. Many high-value, top colour, large specials (greater than 10.8 carats) are Type IIa diamonds, which include all 10 of the largest known rough diamonds recovered worldwide.
The study also confirms and augments an earlier study of Type IIa diamonds being present in the Fort a la Corne kimberlites with Star (26.5%) and Orion South (12.5%).
A target for further exploration completed by Star Diamond in 2014 estimated that between 881 million and 1.04 billion tonnes of the major EJF units, containing between 46 and 79 million carats, occur within the Orion North and Taurus kimberlite clusters.
Orion North (K147, K148 and K220) alone is estimated to contain between 340 million and 410 million tonnes of EJF kimberlite with an estimated range of grade of 2.75 to 8.37 carats per hundred tonnes.
A record blue diamond co-owned by De Beers far outstripped its presale estimate in a stand-alone sale at Sotheby’s in Hong Kong, garnering HKD 450.9 million ($57.5 million), the auction house said Wednesday.
The 15.10-carat De Beers Cullinan Blue diamond
The step-cut, 15.10-carat, fancy-vivid-blue, internally flawless stone, called the De Beers Cullinan Blue, is the largest of its color to appear at auction. The stone, which sold to an unnamed buyer, had been expected to fetch up to $48 million.
Petra Diamonds discovered the 39.35-carat rough in April 2021 at its Cullinan mine in South Africa. In July, De Beers and Diacore bought the stone for $40.2 million, and Diacore manufactured the piece into the final polished.
39.35 carat rough blue diamond
To date, only five blue diamonds weighing more than 10 carats have come to auction, none of which has exceeded 15 carats, Sotheby’s explained. Similar blue diamonds have also fetched high prices, including the Blue Moon of Josephine, a cushion-shaped, 12.03-carat, fancy-vivid-blue, internally flawless diamond that sold for $48.5 million at Sotheby’s Geneva in 2015. Meanwhile, the Oppenheimer Blue, a step-cut, 14.62-carat, fancy-vivid-blue, VVS1-clarity stone, garnered $57.5 million at a Christie’s Geneva sale in 2016.
