Gemfields suffered a slump in sales and prices at its latest auction of rough emeralds from its Kagem mine, in Zambia.
The UK-based company blamed conflicts, elections, and economic uncertainty in China, compounded by a diary clash with an emerald competitor, reportedly selling at low prices.
Gemfields sold only 61 per cent of the almost 4m carats on offer in a series of auctions ending 13 September in Jaipur, India, and online. At the last four sales it sold well over 90 per cent.
Total sales were $10.8m, down 67 per cent on its September 2023 sales. The average price per carat was $4.47, down by a half on the same event last year.
Gemfields says the mix and quality of lots varies, so the results of each auction are not always directly comparable.
Today’s overall result is weaker than expected,” said Adrian Banks, Gemfields’ managing director of product and sales, “exacerbated in part by a competing emerald producer scheduling their own auction to finish in early September 2024, in the middle of ours, and selling through their emeralds at what customers reported as low prices.”
He said the company was committed to acting responsibly – as it did at this auction – by withholding auction lots when fair market prices were not achieved.
Canada’s Lucara Diamond has dug up a 1,094 carat diamond from its Karowe mine in Botswana.
This is the sixth diamond weighing more than 1,000 carats to be recovered at the mine, and it comes only weeks after the recovery of a 2,492 carat diamond the second-largest diamond ever recovered.
“This remarkable stone bears striking similarities to the 692 carat diamond announced in August 2023, which was polished by HB Antwerp and yielded polished diamonds that sold for in excess of $13 million,” the company said in a press release.
“This newly recovered 1,094 carat stone will also be polished by HB Antwerp, as part of the ongoing partnership between the two companies,” Lucara said.
The Karowe mine has produced several large diamonds in recent years, including the 1,758-carat Sewelô in 2019, the 1,109 carat Lesedi La Rona in 2015, and the 813 carat Constellation, also in 2015. The mine is also credited for having yielded Botswana’s largest fancy pink diamond to date, the Boitumelo.
Botswana is the world’s largest producer of diamonds, and the trade has transformed it into a middle-income nation.
Karowe remains one of the highest margin diamond mines in the world, producing an average of 300,000 high value carats each year.
Shares of Lucara rose 8% by 11:40 a.m EDT in Toronto. The miner has a market capitalization of C$221 million ($162 million).
Russian exports of rough diamonds to India increased by well over a fifth, to 4.1m carats, during the first six months of the G7 sanctions.
Total sales were up by 22.23 per cent for January to June 2024, according to the Indian Ministry of Commerce and Industry. But revenue fell by 15.22 per cent, as prices keep declining, from $614m to $520m.
Russian exports for June alone were 347,620 carats, an increase of almost 32 per cent on the same month last year.
The G7 and EU nations imposed sanctions on all Russian diamonds of 1.0-cts and above, regardless of where they were cut and polished, from 1 January. The threshold was lowered to 0.50-cts and above from 1 September.
Rough diamonds imported from Russia to India can only be sold to markets beyond the G7 and EU.
India’s diamond industry has been calling on the government to allow direct payments to Russia so it can more easily buy sanctioned goods.
Diamond giant De Beers is fully prepared for the expanded G7 restrictions on diamond imports from Russia, which took effect on September 1st. These restrictions now include diamonds weighing 0.5 carats and above, according to Rough&Polished.
De Beers stated that its customers will continue to provide proof of the origin of the diamonds they sell, even as the sanctions now cover rough diamonds weighing 0.5 carats and above, instead of 1 carat and above, as previously stipulated.
The company added that it welcomes the G7’s measures, which stand alongside the diamond industry and diamond-producing nations, aiming to trace the origin of diamonds. “De Beers fully supports the work being carried out by the G7 to prohibit the trade in Russian diamonds, and we are committed to working with the G7, the diamond industry, and our partner governments to ensure there is an effective system put in place,” said De Beers CEO Al Cook.
Africa-focused miner Gem Diamonds has unearthed yet another massive white diamond at its prolific Letšeng mine in Lesotho, just days after another major find.
The 122.2 carat Type II white diamond was recovered over the weekend and is the eleventh greater than 100-carat precious stone mined this year at the operation, the company said.
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Type IIa diamonds are the most valued and collectable precious gemstones, as they contain either very little or no nitrogen atoms in their crystal structure.
The Letšeng mine, owned 70% by Gem Diamonds, is one of the world’s ten largest diamond operations by revenue. At 3,100 metres (10,000 feet) above sea level, it is also one of the world’s most elevated diamond mines.
The operation has a track record of producing large, exceptional white diamonds, which makes it the highest-dollar-per-carat kimberlite diamond mine in the world.
The Perth Mint continues its Jewelled series of coins with a 10 ounce gold Jewelled Turtle coin with a mintage of eight coins.
And it comes with a price tag of $269,000 Australian ($182,229 U.S.).
This is the seventh release in the Jewelled series. It features a handset rare trademarked Argyle Pink Diamond and lustrous white diamonds that form the head and limbs of the three dimensional 18 karat gold turtle.
Each Jewelled Turtle coin is a Proof 10 ounce .9999 fine gold $2,500 denominated coin, with the centerpiece the 18-karat gold sea turtle surrounded by depictions of coral and dory fish.
The turtle’s head and limbs are embellished with 52 white diamonds, and two emeralds for its eyes. Additional white diamonds are set in a ribbon shaped line symbolizing the sea surface, with an Argyle Pink Diamond set at the heart of a stylized sun.
The Jewelled Series is developed each year in association with John Glajz, a Singapore based Argyle Pink Diamonds Icon Partner.
Each Jewelled Turtle coin is presented in a luxury display case adorned with 18 karat gold furnishings and inset with two Argyle Pink Diamond.
For the first time in the series, the coin bears the Dan Thorne effigy of King Charles III, as well as the P125 privy mark for the Perth Mint’s 125th anniversary.
Zimbabwe’s state-owned diamond company is forecasting a 16 per cent increase this year.
The Zimbabwe Consolidated Diamond Company (ZCDC) said it was ramping up production to 5.7m carats in 2024 and would aim to increase that figure to 10m carats next year.
Munashe Shava, ZCDC board chairman, said: “Commodity prices are depressed on the global market and we have come up with various initiatives to offset this worrisome development.
The Chronicle newspaper reported him as saying: “We have ramped up production and this year we have set a target of 5.7m carats and we see this target nearly doubling to 20m carats in the coming year.”
Zimbabwe, the world’s seventh biggest diamond producing nation, recorded an output of 4.9m carats, according to Kimberley Process data, valued at $303m. It exported 5.6m carats valued at $297m.
Earlier this year the US sanctioned Zimbabwe’s President Emmerson Mnangagwa for human rights abuses, corruption and smuggling gold and diamonds.
Mnangagwa, 81, who has held office since 2017, insists the claims against him are “defamatory” and “malicious”.
Botswana’s state-owned diamond marketing company will increase its borrowing to fund additional rough purchases.
Finance Minister Peggy Serame said last Thursday (29 August) that the government had arranged a $300m credit facility, with the Standard Chartered Bank for the Okavango Diamond Company (ODC).
It hopes to capitalize on a long-awaited recovery the global diamond market.
At the moment ODC’s limited cash reserves mean it can only buy $70m of its allocation of diamonds produced by Debswana, the 50/50 joint venture between De Beers and the Botswana government.
ODC holds 10 auctions a year to sell its 25% allocation from Debswana. That share is set to double to 50 per cent over the next decade, as part of a deal agreed last year between Botswana and De Beers.
Last October ODC halted its rough sales amid weak demand.
Gem Diamonds has now recovered twice as many +100 cts diamond this year than during the whole of 2023.
The UK-based company today announced a 129.71 carat Type II white diamond from its Letseng mine, in Lesotho.
It’s the 10th +100 cts diamond of 2024. Historically the mine averages eight per year, but last year it recovered only five.
The spike in high-value recoveries has helped push up revenue at Gem. Earlier this month it reported a 9 per cent increase in its first half earnings to $77.9m.
Letseng 70 per cent owned by Gem and 30 per cent by the Lesotho government is the highest dollar per carat kimberlite diamond mine in the world.
Pic courtesy Gem Diamonds, shows the 129.71 ct stone.
