De Beers’ diamond output drops after slow recovery triggers production cut

Diamond output for De Beers slumped 23 per cent in the first quarter, as production was cut in response to a slow recovery in demand amid a pullback in luxury spending and the proliferation of lab-grown equivalents.

De Beers was the only unit of Anglo American to adjust its full-year production forecast on Tuesday, reducing its guided range to 26mn to 29mn carats of output, from 29mn to 32mn, and lifting expected average costs to $90 per carat, from $80.

Anglo American said the diamond market was suffering from a price rout caused by excess piles of inventory, something that De Beers has previously acknowledged is partly down to lab-grown diamonds cannibalising demand for mined stones.

“Ongoing uncertainty around economic growth prospects has led to a continued cautious purchasing approach” by its customers, Anglo American said. “The recovery in rough diamond demand is expected to be gradual through the rest of the year,” it added.

De Beers said a nascent recovery had begun in the first quarter, buoyed by improved demand for diamond jewellery around Christmas and new year in the US.

Diamond producers including De Beers’ arch-rival, Russia’s Alrosa, tried to curb the flow of gemstones into the market in the second half of last year. The Indian government even put on a voluntary import moratorium on rough stones in the final quarter to protect its polishers and cutters.

Despite those continued efforts into this year, demand, prices and the market recovery remains sluggish, Anglo said, requiring further action to be taken to reduce supply.

Anglo American chief executive Duncan Wanblad has been under pressure to improve performance since a production downgrade in December sent shares tumbling, although it has been aided by higher commodity prices, especially for copper.

Wanblad has said that “nothing is off the table” when it comes to asset sales or other options to restructure units, of which De Beers and the platinum group metals division are the most troubled.

“We are progressing through our asset review to optimise value by simplifying and improving the overall quality of the portfolio,” he said in a statement in the first-quarter production update on Tuesday.

Shares in Anglo American dropped 1.7 per cent in early trading in London and remain about a third lower than they were at the start of 2023.

Besides diamonds, the London-based company managed to maintain its guidance across its other commodities such as copper, iron ore and steelmaking coal.

Copper output jumped 11 per cent to 198,100 tonnes, helped by record throughput at its Quellaveco mine in Peru and higher grades at its Chilean mines Collahuasi and El Soldado.

South Africa, where Anglo American has iron ore, steelmaking coal and platinum mines, has become an increasing drag on production because of crippling problems in the logistics and power sector. Rail constraints resulted in a 2 per cent drop in output at Kumba Iron Ore.


Source: ft.com

Lucapa sells three diamonds for $10.5m in first tender

A 203 ct Type IIa diamond as part of Lucapa’s first Lulo tender of the year

Lucapa Diamond Company has sold three exceptional diamonds recovered from the Lulo mine, in Angola, for $10.5-million at tender.

The tender was concluded on April 19 and was conducted by Sodiam, in Luanda.

The three Type IIa white diamonds, weighing 203 ct, 116 ct and 43 ct, made up Lucapa’s first tender of Lulo diamonds for this year.

The total parcel, weighing 361 ct, realised an average price of $29 000/ct.

Lucapa has a 40% interest in the Lulo alluvial mine, alongside Angola’s national diamond company Endiama and a private entity called Rosas & Petalas.

Source: miningweekly

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The 616 Diamond – Still Uncut and Unsold after 50 Years

It’s 50 years since the world’s largest octahedral diamond was recovered, and even today it remains uncut, unpolished and unsold.

The 616-carat Type 1 yellow diamond, dates back to 17 April 1974 and comes from the Dutoitspan Mine in Kimberley, South Africa, which opened in the 1870s and closed in 2005.

The miner who found the diamond, De Beers employee Abel Maretela, was rewarded with a large bonus and a house.  

Al Cook, De Beers Group CEO, was shown the diamond on a visit to Johannesburg, by Moses Madondo, CEO of De Beers Group managed operations.

“I’m a geologist so I love to learn about the history of diamonds even before they were found,” he said in a LinkedIn post.

“This is a Type 1 diamond which means that it was formed around 150 km below the earth’s surface, deep in the mantle, over 1 billion years ago.

“During the Cretaceous period, about 100 million years ago, a kimberlite volcano brought this diamond up to the earth’s surface. Its beautiful yellow colour comes from nitrogen atoms that were trapped inside the carbon lattice when it was forming in the mantle.”

Pics courtesy De Beers.

Source: IDEX

Petra’s Prices Boosted $8.2m Blue

Petra Diamonds sold fewer carats but achieved higher prices earlier this month at its fifth tender of FY 2024, boosted by the sale of an $8.2m blue diamond.

The UK-based miner achieved an average $136 per carat on sales of 362,000 carats for $49m.

Like-for-like figures for its fourth tender, in February, were $112 per carat on sales of 429,000 carats for $48m.

Sales for the year to date are, however, lagging behind FY 2023, at $285m, down 10 per cent down on $316m.

The 14.76ct exceptional color and clarity blue diamond recovered from Cullinan, South Africa, sold for $8.2m, although it was not classified as an “exceptional stone” (over $15m).

Total revenue for Q3 FY 2024 was $66m, down 27 per cent on the previous quarter, due to the lower production and the timing of receipts from the fifth tender.

“Production for the quarter is consistent with the preceding quarter and in-line with expectations.,” said CEO Richard Duffy.

Production guidance for FY 2024 is 2.75m to 2.85m carats.

Earlier this month Petra announced the sale of its loss-making Koffiefontein mine, in South Africa, to Dubai-based Stargems for a nominal sum.

Source: IDEX

Antwerp World Diamond Centre CEO resigns amid Russia diamond sanctions

Antwerp World Diamond Centre (AWDC) chief executive Ari Epstein resigned unexpectedly on Thursday, the AWDC’s board of directors said in a statement.

A spokesperson for AWDC, Belgium’s main diamond industry group, said on Friday that Epstein, who had been CEO for 13 years, did not wish to communicate about the reason for his sudden departure, but Belgian financial newspaper De Tijd reported that Russian diamond sanctions had been the cause of conflict between the diamond sector and the Belgian government.

AWDC did not say who would replace Epstein as CEO. Epstein did not immediately respond to a request for comment sent via LinkedIn.

Following an EU ban on Russian-origin diamonds that took effect on March 1, rough and polished diamonds have to enter the EU and G7 countries with documentary proof and declarations that the stones are not of Russian origin.

Antwerp’s diamond dealers have said they are facing long and costly delays as a consequence.

Source: mining.com

Former De Beers Head Joins Lucapa Board

Industry veteran Stuart Brown, who has led multiple diamond-mining companies, will become chairman of the board at Lucapa Diamond Company.

Brown spent 20 years at De Beers, with stints as both interim CEO and chief financial officer. He was also the head of Firestone Diamonds from 2013 to 2018, and CEO of Mountain Province for three years, Lucapa said Monday.

During his time at Firestone, he raised $225 million to develop the Liqhobong mine in Lesotho, Lucapa noted. He is currently a director of Ukrainian iron-ore miner Ferrexpo and of Digby Wells Environmental Holdings, a provider of environmental, social and governance (ESG) consulting services to the mining industry.

In addition, Ronnie Beevor will take a seat on the board. He has experience in investment banking and mining, having been the head of Rothschild Australia. He is currently a director of Canadian iron-ore miner Champion Iron and Canadian explorer Mount Royal Resources. He serves as chairman of gold explorer Felix Gold and has recently retired as chairman of Bannerman Energy.

Meanwhile, Ross Stanley has resigned from Lucapa’s board, the company added.

Source: Rapaport

Blackstone Aiming to Raise $300m Through the IGI Debut

Jeweler repairing diamond ring in workshop

Blackstone Inc. (BX), the investment firm headquartered in New York, is reportedly looking to raise $300m through the IPO of India’s International Gemological Institute (IGI).

Examining a diamond
Based on a Reuters report, this gemstone certification company aims for a valuation of about $1.5bn.

In May 2023, Blackstone bought IGI for $570m from Fosun International Limited (0656.HK) and the Lorie family, who founded the company. Describing itself as the world leader in the grading and accreditation of gems, IGI operates mainly in India.

According to Reuters, the organisation appointed Morgan Stanley (MS) and Kotak to captain its market debut. As of April 2024, IGI has 29 laboratory facilities worldwide that grade and appraise jewellery, natural and lab-grown diamonds, and other gemstones. Although founded in Belgium, this company’s main financial arteries are in India.

A Reuters source indicated that IGI aspires to boost interest in lab-grown diamonds in India. Although these resemble diamonds, they are less expensive. This country cut the taxes on the production of lab diamonds to promote the practice and product.

In 2021, India’s jewellery sector carried a value of $78bn. Most of its products are exported, but there seems to be a local shift from gold to diamonds. Blackstone is reportedly keen to push on with the IGI IPO as India’s debut scene is the most vibrant in the Asian market sphere.

LSEG data shows that during the first quarter of this year, Indian firms amassed approximately $2.3bn in IPOs. That is a big jump from the estimated $166.5m raised during the same period last year.

Source: Leaprate

16ct. Yellow Diamond Takes Center Stage at Phillips

A yellow diamond ring was the star of the most recent jewelry sale at Phillips in Hong Kong, fetching HKD 8.9 million ($1.1 million).

The round brilliant-cut, 15.51-carat, fancy-vivid-yellow, VS2-clarity diamond ring fell within its estimated range at the March 28 Hong Kong Jewels auction, Phillips said last week. In total, the sale achieved HKD 32.3 million ($4.1 million), with 73% of items finding buyers.

“The sale total for our spring auction in Hong Kong increased by 20% over the previous season, demonstrating the resilience of the global demand for rare and important jewels across the board,” said Benoît Repellin, worldwide head of jewelry for Phillips. “Fancy colored diamonds commanded the sale…. Vintage signed pieces also performed well. We also saw notable demand for [the] finest Burmese rubies, emeralds and sapphires.”

Here are the rest of the top five jewels at the sale:

This Van Cleef & Arpels necklace, created in 1985, is set with alternating brilliant-cut diamonds and round cabochon turquoises, supporting a fringe of pear-shaped cabochon turquoises. It realized HKD 4.6 million ($584,302), nearly four times its HKD 1.2 million ($150,000) high estimate.

A ring bearing a pear-shaped, 2.65-carat, fancy-intense-orangey-pink, VS1-clarity diamond brought in HKD 2.9 million ($373,304), within estimates.

Phillips sold this brilliant-cut, 5.53-carat, D-color, VVS1-clarity diamond ring for HKD 1.9 million ($243,459), at the upper end of its price range.

A bracelet with 12 cushion-shaped, oval and circular-cut Burmese rubies weighing approximately 24.59 carats in total, as well as kite-shaped diamonds, went for HKD 1.5 million ($194,767), missing its HKD 1.8 million ($230,000) lower presale price.

Source: Rapaport

Canada’s mild winter disrupts key ice road to remote Arctic diamond mines

An unusually warm winter in Canada this year has delayed the opening of a 400-kilometer (250-mile) ice road that is rebuilt every year as the main conduit for Rio Tinto, Burgundy Mines and De Beers to access their diamond mines in the remote Arctic region.

The Winter Road, which serves the region accessible only by air for 10 months of the year, opened with a two-week delay in the middle of February, disrupting movement of goods along the ice road built over 64 frozen lakes.

Earlier this week, the Tlicho government in Northwest Territories (NWT) restricted movement of commercial trucks for few days in one of the winter roads due to anticipated warmer weather across the North Slave Region.

While diamond production remains unaffected, the delay underscores the challenges that companies face as the mines that make Canada the world’s third largest diamond producer come to the end of their productive life.

It also highlights the infrastructure hurdle for the NWT and Nunavut that are positioning themselves as the next frontiers in the exploration of critical metals, such as rare earth, cobalt and lithium, in the transition to a greener future.

The delays in building the Winter Road, which first became operational in 1982, have happened in the past, but this year’s is the longest delay in recent years, according to Tom Hoefer, senior advisor to the NWT and Nunavut Chamber of Mines.

“We did start the road a bit later as a result,” he said.

Climate change, driven by the burning of fossil fuels, coupled with the emergence of the natural El Nino climate pattern, pushed the world into record heat territory in 2023.

The impact of El Nino this year resulted in Yellowknife, the capital of the NWT, recording a maximum temperature of zero degrees Celsius (32 degrees Fahrenheit) in December and minus 8.7 degrees Celsius (17.6 F) in February, making it the warmest winter days in a decade, according to data from Environment Canada.

The Winter Road opens between late January and early April and requires minimum of 29 inches (74 cm) of ice for vehicles that can carry 26,000 kilograms (57,320 lbs) of gross vehicle weight, to transport diesel and dynamite required to operate the mines.

On warmer days, the engineers have found ways to trick nature by creating artificial ice using giant sprinklers to spray water high up in the air so that they cool and form thick layer of ice when they fall.

Paul Gruner, CEO of the Indigenous corporation Tlicho Investment Corp & Group of Companies said this year the warm winter at the start and if there is a warmer end of the season or an early spring, it could risk an early closure.

“So when you’re nibbling away on both sides of that, you start to create a very short season,” Gruner said.

The Winter Road is jointly operated by Burgundy Diamond Mines, Rio Tinto and De Beers of Anglo American group, which run the Ekati, Diavik and Gahcho Kue diamond mines respectively.

De Beers and Burgundy Diamonds said operations at their mines have not been affected by the mild winter. Rio Tinto declined comment.

The Winter Road costs C$25 million ($18.54 million) to operate for two months, which is shared by the three companies based on goods transported on the road and distance traveled.

However, the mines have a operational life of around 20 years and as they reach the end of life, they need to be shut down.

Rio Tinto has said it will close the Diavik mine in 2026 and De Beers plans to shut Snap Lake end of this year, while seeking to extend the life of Gahcho Kue.

Chicken and egg
Canada’s remote Arctic region, home to around 86,000 people, is facing the complete closure of all the diamond mines by 2030 and is looking for ways to keep mining alive.

The lack of infrastructure is a challenge and the shortened seasonal use of the ice road could hurt investments needed to mine critical minerals.

“If you’re in the exploration phase … and looking at using the winter road as part of your core business model, the risks start to come into … your decision making whether or not to advance a project,” Tlicho Investment’s Gruner said.

Hoefer of NWT and Nunavut Chamber of Mines said the two Northern territories, which are as big as Europe, have the highest infrastructure deficits in Canada – one of the reasons for the very high costs of living and doing business in the North.

“It is a chicken-and-egg situation, the mining companies probably won’t come unless there is some infrastructure, it’s just too expensive,” said Heather Exner-Pirot, director of Energy, Natural Resources and Environment program at Macdonald-Laurier Institute.

It costs C$3 million a kilometer to build gravel roads, Pirot said.

Mining groups are pushing for a mega infrastructure project that connects NWT to Nunavut that runs through the diamond mines could help unlock the mineral riches in the region. At least 23 of the 31 critical minerals listed by the Canadian government is found in the NWT.

“When the project comes up, it would replace the roads that have served mining for 40 years, but until that happens, the ice roads are required,” Hoefer said.

Source: Mining.com

Colored Diamonds and Jadeite to Shine at Sotheby’s Hong Kong

A ring with a rare fancy-vivid-yellowish-orange diamond is set to lead the upcoming Sotheby’s jewelry sale in Hong Kong, which will take place during its luxury week.

The auction house has not disclosed the estimate for the cushion-shaped, 7.01-carat, VS2-clarity diamond it will offer at the April 6 Magnificent Jewels event.

Along with that stone, Sotheby’s will feature several other colored diamonds in its top 10, as well as jadeite pieces. Jewels from well-known design houses, including Harry Winston, Graff, Chopard, Tiffany & Co., Bulgari, and Boucheron, will also take center stage.

Here are the rest of the top 10 jewels Sotheby’s will offer at the auction:

This unmounted oval brilliant-cut, 55.55-carat, D-flawless, type IIa diamond has a presale estimate of HKD 38 million to HKD 50 million ($4.9 million to $6.4 million).
A ring with a heart-shaped, 10.33-carat, fancy-intense-orangey-pink, VVS1-clarity diamond is estimated to fetch HKD 25.3 million to HKD 40 million ($3.2 million to $5.1 million).
Sotheby’s will sell this ring bearing a round-cornered rectangular modified brilliant-cut, 4.01-carat, fancy-intense-purplish-pink, internally flawless diamond for up to HKD 30 million ($3.8 million).
This necklace, containing 18 oval jadeite cabochons with brilliant-cut diamonds, is estimated to bring in up to HKD 28 million ($3.6 million).
A collection featuring a detachable pendant necklace, composed of seven oval jadeite cabochons as well as diamonds, in addition to a pair of earrings and a ring will be offered for HKD 18 million ($2.3 million) to HKD 28 million.
A ring by Jacques Timey for Harry Winston contains a cushion-shaped, 16.65-carat Kashmir sapphire flanked by two triangular-shaped diamonds. It carries a presale estimate of HKD 17 million to HKD 20 million
($2.2 million to $2.6 million).
This jadeite bangle is set to go under the hammer at the Hong Kong auction, where it has a price range of HKD 16.8 million to HKD 22 million
($2.1 million to $2.8 million).
A ring with a cushion-shaped, 5.07-carat, pigeon’s blood Burmese ruby surrounded by epaulette- and marquise-shaped diamonds is due to bring in between HKD 12.8 million ($1.6 million) and HKD 18 million.
Another jadeite collection, comprising a necklace set with 14 oval jadeite cabochons and brilliant-cut, pear- and marquise-shaped diamonds, together with a ring and a pair of earrings, has a price range of HKD 12 million ($1.5 million) to HKD 18 million.

Source: Rapaport