RAPAPORT... A Canadian court has ordered the Rio Tinto subsidiary that manages the Diavik mine to release inventory belonging to Dominion Diamond Mines it had been holding as a guarantee for missed payments.Diavik Diamond Mines (DDMI) has certain rights to extra shares in the mine if Dominion goes bankrupt with outstanding debts to the company, the court said earlier this month. However, DDMI...Read More
(IDEX Online) - De Beers has launched an online platform to sell its rough diamonds. It's offering its registered buyers a new opportunity in a market severely weakened by COVID-19. De Beers' third Sight of the year , in March, was canceled and the fourth, in May, was virtually wiped out by travel restrictions. The new "Buy platform" allows users to search and buy in four categories - ve...Read More
PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Diversified major Rio Tinto has introduced Covid-19 testing at its Diavik diamond mine, in the Northwest Territories, in Canada, as an additional precautionary measure to protect employees and community members.The miner said over the weekend that not-for-profit public health experts GuardRX have installed an on-site laboratory at Diavik to conduct a testing progra...Read More
(IDEX Online) - A spectacular asscher-cut Golconda five-carat diamond ring by Harry Winston has been sold at auction.It was valued at $600,000 but the price, paid by an unnamed online buyer from New Orelans, Louisiana, USA, was not disclosed. The 5.06 carat stone, graded by GIA as internally flawless, D-color, and type IIa, was described by sellers as the "ultimate diamond". The ring was made by t...Read More
Aim-listed BlueRock Diamonds has advised that its expansion plans for the Kareevlei diamond mine, in the Kimberley region of South Africa, remain on hold.The mine is, however, expected to reach full operating capacity by the end of May.AdvertisementThe mine has started ramping up operations, after having restarted following a complete shutdown of mines in South Africa from the end of March to...Read More
RAPAPORT... The Young Diamantaires group is planning to become a more structured organization, with regional chapters and an online networking platform for registered members, its founder told Rapaport News. The initiative of the World Federation of Diamond Bourses (WFDB) has expanded since it launched in 2016 as a small club that met at trade shows to discuss the sector's future. With close...Read More
RAPAPORT... Lucara Diamond Corp. has indicated the market could improve in the second half as lower rough supply and a recovery in Asia bode well for prices."Though our near-term outlook on diamond prices remains uncertain, global rough-diamond production curtailments, combined with early indications of polished diamond-demand recovery in Asia, provide some optimism that demand will improve i...Read More
RAPAPORT... De Beers has launched an e-commerce site that enables customers to buy the rough diamonds they want, when they want them, creating an opportunity for sales during the weak market.An initiative of De Beers' auctions unit, the new Buy platform gives registered buyers an extra way of purchasing rough in addition to the company's existing limited-time auctions, the miner said Thursday...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Baselworld boss Michel Loris-Melikoff says it's too early to talk about a return in 2022, after the 2020 show was postponed and the replacement 2021 show was then canceled.He also said coronavirus had accelerated a major re-think that was already under way on the format of the premier watch and jewelry event, held annually in Switzerland. In an exclusive interview with Au...Read More
RAPAPORT... Alrosa has shut all operations at its polishing units until further notice, as it waits for demand and health conditions to improve.The closure affects the miner's three manufacturing centers: its original two in Moscow and Barnaul, and the Kristall cutting division in Smolensk, which it purchased from the Russian government last year for $29 million. It does not plan to reopen th...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Banks in Belgium have been accused of refusing vital loans to help diamond firms survive coronavirus.The Antwerp World Diamond Centre (AWDC), representing 1,600 companies, claims banks are turning down applicants who clearly qualify for a financial lifeline.The banks agreed a $55bn emergency loans policy with the Belgian government early on in the COVID-19 crisis.But AWDC spokeswom...Read More
(IDEX Online) - India's Bharat Diamond Bourse has donated $159,000 to help workers hit by COVID-19. It has also been helping to feed up to poor residents living near the Bandra Kurla Complex where it's based, in Mumbai. And it has made one-off subsistence payments of $66 each to 800 daily-wage sorters and traders and plans to make more. The $159,000 donation was made to the chief ministe...Read More
RAPAPORT... The Young Diamantaires group is planning to become a more structured organization, with regional chapters and an online networking platform for registered members, its founder told Rapaport News. The initiative of the World Federation of Diamond Bourses (WFDB) has expanded since it launched in 2016 as a small club that met at trade shows to discuss the sector's future. With close...Read More
RAPAPORT... Lucara Diamond Corp. has indicated the market could improve in the second half of 2020 as lower rough supply and a recovery in Asia bode well for prices."Though our near-term outlook on diamond prices remains uncertain, global rough-diamond production curtailments, combined with early indications of polished diamond-demand recovery in Asia, provide some optimism that demand will i...Read More
In response to the Covid-19 pandemic, De Beers Group Institute of Diamonds, the diamond mining company’s education and training entity, is providing free access to its Diamond Foundation Course.The decision was taken to offer support and “play a small part” in helping those who are working from home or are in self-isolation to “stay connected to their industry” during...Read More
TSX-listed Lucara Diamond Corporation has posted a net loss of $3.2-million, or $0.01 a share, for the quarter ended March 31.This compares with a net income of $7.4-million and earnings a share of $0.02 apiece reported for the quarter ended March 31, 2019.AdvertisementLucara explains that a decrease in total revenue had a significant impact on the quarter’s results.“The first tender f...Read More
Trading limited but sentiment up slightly as Antwerp prepares to reopen trading floors on May 11. Select services returning to Israel Diamond Exchange. New York still on lockdown, restricting US diamond activity. 1 ct. RAPI +0.2% in April. Manufacturers curtailing rough purchases to ease liquidity pressure and focus on depleting polished inventories. Alrosa expected to reduce 2020 production guida...Read More
RAPAPORT... Mountain Province reported a loss in the first quarter as the stronger US dollar led to an increase in the miner's debts.The company posted a net loss of CAD 41 million ($29.1 million), compared with a profit of CAD 2.5 million ($1.8 million) in the same period of 2019. The appreciation of the US currency against its Canadian counterpart had a negative impact of CAD 30.8 million (...Read More
RAPAPORT... Lightbox, De Beers's lab-grown diamond jewelry brand, has delayed commissioning its new facility in Portland, Oregon, by a few months due to the COVID-19 pandemic."The building itself and plant infrastructure [are] already complete, and we are now in a phase of installing and commissioning the deposition equipment," Lightbox CEO Steve Coe said in an email to Rapaport News. "To ens...Read More
RAPAPORT... Jared will offer free virtual weddings to 1,000 couples who had to cancel or postpone their events due to the COVID-19 pandemic.The jeweler will begin holding the ceremonies, which are part of its #LoveCantWait campaign, at the end of May, it said Monday. The Signet Jewelers-owned banner will allow the couples to design a customized wedding, including selecting their own date, the...Read More