Rough Diamonds – Page 34 – The Diamond Certification Laboratory of Australia (DCLA)

Surging Diamond Demand Helps Botswana Trader Post Record Sales

Botswana’s state-run diamond trader reported record revenue last year with sales surging almost five fold after U.S. imports recovered from a Covid-19 induced slowdown.

Okavango Diamond Company sold $963 million of rough diamonds last year, said Dennis Tlaang, a company spokesman. The revenue was the most since the company began operations in 2012, he said.

“The demand for natural rough diamonds remained strong throughout 2021 driven primarily by positive market sentiment in key markets such as the United States,” Tlaang said.

Sales may rise further this year after De Beers, the world’s biggest producer of the stones, pushed through one of its most aggressive diamond price increases in recent years. Okavango also got higher than normal prices in the sole auction it held this year, Tlaang said.

De Beers Implements Big Diamond Price Hike as Demand Runs Hot. A Buying Frenzy in Cheap and Tiny Diamonds Sends Prices Soaring. Diamond Sold for $12 Million in Cryptocurrency at Sotheby’s. “We believe this is a good indicator of the market dynamics of 2022, at least for the first half of the year,” he said. “The company will continue to drive customer participation by marketing its rough diamond assortment in key markets such as Antwerp and Dubai.”

Under a 2011 agreement between De Beers and the government of Botswana, Okavango purchases 25% of the nation’s annual production for independent marketing, while the balance is sold through the De Beers’ trading network.

Source: bloomberg

Rough Shortages Could Last 10 Years, Bain Says

The current shortfall in rough production will likely continue for up to a decade, while both demand and prices will remain strong, according to Bain & Company.

Output fell 20% to 111 million carats in 2020 as the coronavirus pandemic forced companies to shut deposits, Bain said Monday in “The Global Diamond Industry 2021-22,” the latest edition of its annual report on the sector. Production increased 4.5% to 116 million carats in 2021, when mines reopened. However, solid demand for diamond jewelry depleted resources, as did the closure of Rio Tinto’s Argyle mine in Australia, which accounted for 11 million carats a year.

“Demand was so strong, production levels had to be supplemented by inventory,” Bain partner Olya Linde told Rapaport News. “We have not seen such strong demand for a long time. Actually, I have not seen such a big boom in all my time in the industry. Going forward, it’s not that easy to just add production. So, while demand will continue to remain strong, the ability for players to increase production in the short term is very limited.”

Miners’ “technical” inventories — goods that have been extracted but are not yet ready for sale — fell to an all-time low of 29 million carats in 2021, Linde claimed.

Over the next five years, rough output is expected to grow between 1% and 2% annually, reaching just over 122 million carats by the end of 2022 — still 10% to 15% below pre-pandemic levels.

Rising jewelry demand

In 2021, demand for diamond jewelry rose 29% globally and 38% in the US, well above pre-pandemic figures. China, the second-largest market, showed similar growth, Linde noted.

“At the end of the consumer holiday season and coming into the new year, there is still a lot of interest and demand,” she explained. “Even in 2022, we can expect that demand will continue, probably not at the same level of recovery, but it will definitely be robust enough. Although we don’t have a crystal ball, and don’t know how prices will behave for sure, given that supply is limited, it sets a foundation to support very healthy price growth across categories.”

Lack of new supply

The dearth of new mines coming online as others go offline or approach their end of life is also contributing to the gloomy production forecast. While exploration is underway in Botswana, Angola, Australia and Canada, the only project that will significantly add to output in the near term is the Luaxe mine in Angola, Linde said.

“We do not expect production to recover to 139 million carats [seen in 2019] in the next five years, for sure, and even not in the next 10 years, honestly, unless there will be a major unexpected discovery that could be brought up to production fairly quickly,” she noted. “We have to remember not only do we have a very limited number of new projects, but existing mines also have declining production levels.”

Filling the hole

While availability will decrease across most categories, it is unlikely lab-grown diamonds will cover the natural-diamond shortfall, as they are doing well in their own, separate category, Linde said.

Growth in synthetics over the past year was likely supported by both a decrease in prices, as well as higher transaction volumes, she explained.

“I don’t believe that one category is taking market share away from the other,” she added. “If you look at last year, if the market is operating purely on substitution, you would be hard pressed to really say where all this demand is coming from. In the US, it far outgrew pre-pandemic levels. What that suggests to me is that there are additional consumers that are coming to make lab-grown diamond purchases that we have not seen before in the diamond sector.”

Source: Diamonds.net

BlueRock Concerned over Cash-Flow Shortage

BlueRock Diamonds is in talks to receive financial help after operations at its Kareevlei mine in South Africa paused due to a possible safety breach.

“The suspension has impacted near-term cash-flow expectations, exacerbated by the fact that there is no planned diamond tender in Kimberley [in South Africa] in December,” BlueRock said last week. “The company is assessing how best to meet its working capital needs over this period.”

The miner is considering funding its December production through its existing relationship with Delgatto Diamond Finance, it explained.

While mining is on hold, meaning BlueRock cannot source any new production, it is currently processing ore stocks that built up before the rainy season began, management noted. The company still expects to meet its outlook of 22,000 to 26,000 carats for the full year, but believes output will be toward the lower end of that.

Last week, the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) visited the site and issued a notice under Section 54 of the Mine Health and Safety Act, which enables inspectors to call for the suspension of mine operations if they identify possible danger.

“The company remains in discussion with the DMRE in relation to the issues raised regarding BlueRock’s mining activities that remain suspended, and hopes to resolve these in the near future,” BlueRock added.

Source: diamonds.net

Lucapa Sales Surge in Buoyant Market

Lucapa Diamond Company’s revenue rose in the third quarter amid strong demand and an increase in sales volume.

Sales from the miner’s Lulo deposit in Angola and Mothae in Lesotho soared 86% to $8.6 million for the three months ending September 30, it said last week. Sales volume jumped 57% to 15,690 carats, outweighing a 14% drop in the average price to $995 per carat.

“The market for diamonds continued to be buoyant in a constrained rough-supply environment,” said Lucapa managing director Stephen Wetherall. “As a result, we have upgraded our full-year guidance.”

Production from Lulo increased 1% year on year during the quarter to 9,444 carats, with the miner recovering 83 diamonds above 10.8 carats. The largest of those was a 94-carat, D-color, type IIa white stone. Lucapa also unearthed several fancy-pink diamonds during the quarter, it noted.

Output from Mothae came to 9,567 carats, with 60 diamonds weighing more than 10.8 carats. The Australia-based miner recovered a 51-carat stone, along with a number of fancy-light pinks and yellows. Lucapa did not produce any rough from Mothae during the same period last year, as the site was on care and maintenance due to Covid-19-related regulations in Lesotho.

Lucapa has made progress toward satisfying the conditions for its acquisition of the Merlin mine in Australia. It believes the final outstanding conditions will be dealt with in the fourth quarter.

The company upgraded its guidance for the full year due to the strong demand. It expects revenue to be between AUD 66 million ($48.9 million) and AUD 71 million ($52.6 million), compared to the AUD 50 million ($37 million) to AUD 56 million ($41.5 million) it forecast in May.

The miner is also conducting exploration at the Brooking lamproite project in Australia and the Orapa site in Botswana.

Image: A selection of rough white, pink and yellow diamonds sold during the quarter.

Source: Diamonds.net

Letšeng Yields Two Diamonds over 100ct.

Gem Diamonds has unearthed two large rough stones from its Letšeng mine in Lesotho, marking the fourth and fifth diamonds from the deposit over 100 carats this year.

The stones — weighing 245 and 102 carats — are high-quality, white, type II diamonds, the miner said Monday. The company found both stones on the same day.

The recoveries follow that of two diamonds weighing 370 and 254 carats in May. The company also discovered a 146.9-carat rough in January.

Output of large stones has been sluggish in the first half of the year as Gem Diamonds mined lower-value areas of the deposit, it explained. In the first six months of the year, the company unearthed three 100-carat-plus diamonds, compared to seven in the same period of 2020. Last year, Gem Diamonds recovered 13 stones greater than 100 carats by September 30, and 16 for the full year.

Source: Diamonds.net

Crater of Diamonds visitor finds 4.38 carat yellow diamond

A California woman visiting the Crater of Diamonds State Park in Arkansas found a 4.38 carat yellow diamond after less than an hour of searching.

Arkansas State Parks said Noreen Wredberg of Granite Bay was visiting the park with her husband on Thursday and had been looking for gems in an open field for about 40 minutes when she spotted something shiny on the surface.

“I didn’t know it was a diamond then, but it was clean and shiny, so I picked it up,” Wredberg recalled.

Wredberg’s husband, Michael, took her find to the Diamond Discovery Center, where it was identified as a 4.38 carat yellow diamond.

“When I first saw this diamond under the microscope, I thought, ‘Wow, what a beautiful shape and color,'” Park Superintendent Caleb Howell said. “Mrs. Wredberg’s diamond weighs more than four carats and is about the size of a jellybean, with a pear shape and a lemonade yellow color.”

Officials said Wredberg’s discovery is the largest diamond found at the park since October 2020.

Wredberg said she hasn’t yet decided whether to have the diamond cut or to leave it as is.

“I don’t even know what it’s worth yet. It’s all new to me,” she said.

Source: upi.com

Officials Face Fraud Charges over Missing Diamonds

*A diamond held by dop is polished on rotating automatic cast iron lap*

Four government officials have been arrested in South Africa, following the disappearance of rough gems bought for a diamond cutting course.

The suspects, all employees at the Department of Economic Development and Tourism, were detained last Wednesday by the Hawks, the force that specializes in corruption and economic crime. They all face fraud charges.
Back in 2010 the European Union donated over $440,000 to fund a mining qualification course – which included cutting and polishing – for 40 students at the Kimberley Diamonds International Jewellery Academy (KIDJA), Northern Cape.
In July 2021 a random audit inspection discovered that rough gems bought for training purposes had disappeared.
They were reportedly purchased from a private entity without the necessary licenses.
Four suspects, aged 47 to 66, are due to appear at Kimberley Magistrates’ Court.

Source: IDEX

Kimberley Process to Hold Hybrid Plenary Meeting

The annual Kimberley Process (KP) plenary will take place online and in person from November 8 to 12, with the digitization of certificates featuring at the top of the agenda.

The hybrid format enables the KP to continue its activities despite the restrictions resulting from the coronavirus pandemic, Russia’s Finance Ministry, which is chairing the organization this year, said last week. Those eligible to visit Moscow under Covid-19 rules will be able to attend the physical event.

The meeting will focus on modernizing the KP export and import documents for rough diamonds. The ministry is currently finalizing a pilot program involving an information exchange with one of Russia’s key trading partners and plans to present its findings soon, it said.

The KP will also consider the applications of new countries wishing to join the group, having paused this due to travel difficulties. Since the easing of the situation, the KP has organized missions to Qatar and Kyrgyz Republic, and plans to do the same in Mozambique. The chairmanship and the committee that handles applications for participation in the KP will consider the reports emanating from those visits.

The Central African Republic (CAR) will also be on the agenda, with the KP planning to send an expert mission to the country to evaluate its compliance with rules aimed at preventing the export of conflict diamonds. In addition, the KP will select a new vice chair for 2022, with that country taking over as chair in 2023 from Botswana, which is slated to take the helm next year.

Meanwhile, Russia will work with KP partners to reach a consensus on the location of a future permanent KP secretariat to help streamline the organization’s work.

The KP canceled the 2020 plenary and intersessional meetings because of the pandemic. However, the 2021 intersessional took place in June, focusing on topics including digitization and human rights.

Source: diamonds.net

Petra Diamonds mulls selling Williamson mine

South Africa’s Petra Diamonds is considering selling its Williamson mine in Tanzania, even as it continues to work on bringing the operation back online in the second half of 2021.

Delivering its year-end results, Petra said that Williamson had been classified as a discontinued operation, which will mean an accounting loss of $52.1 million for the company. The mine was mothballed in April last year after diamond prices dropped following the global covid-19 outbreak.

BMO analyst Raj Ray said that while a sale could be viewed positively by the market, he sees potential risks in terms of realizing the value of $84 million (net book value of about $26 million at F2021 year-end) the bank ascribes to the asset, given the recent challenges.

“Recent efforts to procure a $25 million working capital facility with a local bank for the restart have so far been unsuccessful,” Raj wrote in a note to investors.

Petra has faced allegations of human rights abuses at the mine, resulting from the actions of its security guards.

The miner formed in February an internal committee to oversee the investigation, which concluded that “regrettable” incidents did take place at the mine in the past. Shortly after, it reached a £4.3 million (about $6m) settlement with claimants, even though it did not admit liability.

The company is currently engaged in talks with the Tanzanian government over a revised regulatory framework, which would lead to Williamson’s re-opening.

A key issue in those discussions concerns a parcel of 71,654 carats of diamonds effectively placed in limbo after deceased President John Magufuli blocked their export in 2017.

Turnaround
Despite covid-19 and issues at Williamson, Petra has staged a sharp turnaround in fortunes over the past financial year. It cut net debt by two-thirds in the year ended June 30 after a capital restructuring completed in March and rising sales drove strong growth in free cash flow.

Petra ended fiscal 2021 with net debt of $228 million, down from just under $693 million last year. Net profit reached $196.6 million, reflecting a $213.3 million gain after the successful debt restructuring.

Revenue rose 65% to $402.3 million on the back of higher sales of exceptional stones.

As for fiscal 2022, Petra reaffirmed production guidance of 3.3 million-3.6 million carats, with capital expenditure of $78 million- $92 million.

Source: Mining.com

Lucky Farmer Digs up his Sixth Diamond in Panna, India

An Indian farmer has recovered his sixth diamond in two years – a 6.47-ct gem valued at over $40,000.

Prakash Majumdar leases a small patch of land in diamond-rich Panna from the Madhya Pradesh state government.

The diamond, which he found last Friday, will be sold at a price fixed by the Government Diamond Office, and the proceeds – minus taxes and royalties – will be split between Majumdar and his four co-workers.

It’s not the biggest diamond he’s found. Last year he unearthed a 7.44-ct stone on the same plot and he’s found four other gems weighing 2-ct to 2.5-ct in the past two years.

Farmers typically pay $2.70 for the rights to dig a 25ft by 25ft patch of land in Panna district, which is estimated to have 1.2m carats of diamond reserves.

Last July laborer Anandilal Kushwaha (pictured) who leased a tiny square of land to dig for diamonds in Panna, Madhya Pradesh, unearthed a 10.69 carat stone valued at $67,000.

Source: IDEX