(IDEX Online) - The future of Baselworld, the world's largest watch and jewelry event, is hanging in the balance after an exodus of five big-name exhibitors.Rolex, Patek Philippe, Chanel, Chopard and Tudor all said they were pulling out of the show - rescheduled for January 2021 because of coronavirus - in protest at the new date and refund policy.The brands they have joined...Read More
(IDEX Online) - India's ailing diamond industry is appealing for government help to cover minimum wages after the country's lockdown was extended to 3 May. Production in Surat, the world's cutting and polishing capital, is at a standstill and an estimated 225,000 migrants - half of its workforce - have returned to their home towns elsewhere in Gujurat. "While wages for March have be...Read More
Aim-listed Vast Resources has raised £600 000 through a placing of almost 400-million ordinary shares of 0.1p in the company at a price of 0.153p apiece.The placing was undertaken by Axis Capital Markets, which was appointed as a joint broker to Vast.AdvertisementThe cash raised from the placing will be used to maintain the company’s working capital in light of the anticipated con...Read More
JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – All mining operations, excluding collieries supplying Eskom which have been permitted to operate at full capacity throughout the national lockdown, may now resume at 50% capacity during the remaining lockdown days, Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe said on Thursday.Thereafter, mining capacity would be permitted to increase with a risk-base...Read More
Russia-based diamond miner Alrosa produced eight-million carats of diamonds and sold 9.4-million carats in the first quarter of the year.The company generated sales revenues of $904-million from rough and polished diamonds.AdvertisementThis was despite diamond production seasonally declining by 9% quarter-on-quarter, although year-on-year diamond production growth was 2%. The year-on-year growth w...Read More
PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Diamond miner Lucapa on Thursday said that it was reviewing various funding scenarios and financing restructuring possibilities amid the global Covid-19 pandemic.A care-and-maintenance and security programme is being implemented at its Mothae operation, in Lesotho, after the South African government effected a nation-wide lockdown which impacted on the flow of esse...Read More
JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – The Minerals Council South Africa on Thursday welcomed the amendments to the Disaster Management Act regulations as they pertain to mining.These regulations allow a phase-up in mining capacity to 50% during the lockdown period, but with all the preventative and mitigating controls in place to fight Covid-19.AdvertisementThe council said it was completely ali...Read More
The Renard diamond mine, in the James Bay territory of Quebec, will not reopen yet, despite the province’s government announcing that mining activities can restart as essential services.Diamond miner Stornoway is keeping Renard on care and maintenance, given the structural challenges still affecting diamond market sales, as well as the depressed prices for diamonds owing to Covid-19.Adv...Read More
(IDEX Online) - New dates have been announced for two Hong Kong jewelry shows after they were twice postponed because of coronavirus.The Hong Kong International Jewellery and Diamond Show and its sister event, the Gem & Pearl Show, are now due to take place on 3 to 6 August, with extra Covid-19 precautions.They were originally scheduled for 2 to 8 March, were put back to 18 to 21 May because o...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Russian mining giant Alrosa to finance a drone to monitor and protect wild reindeer. Its environmental center is working with authorities in the remote tundra of Yakutia, in the east of the country, where Alrosa operates its Mir mine. The company already has special paths for reindeer to cross ground installation lines and has developed a mechanism that blocks traffic so they can s...Read More
Aim-listed diamond producer BlueRock Diamonds, which owns the Kareevlei mine, in Kimberley, in the Northern Cape, says the two-week extension of South Africa's national lockdown to April 30 will not have a significant impact on its strategy.Executive chairperson Mike Houston says the lockdown extension did not come as a surprise and is consistent with what is happening around the world. A...Read More
RAPAPORT... Exhibitors who had signed up for Baselworld's 2020 show are frustrated over the fair's choice of new dates and refund options after the show was postponed due to the coronavirus outbreak.Organizers MCH Group delayed the fair, which was due to take place April 30 to May 5 alongside Watches & Wonders Geneva. However, the new edition, scheduled for January 28 to February 2, 2021,...Read More
RAPAPORT... US imports of goods used in the retail industry fell to their lowest level in five years in March, signaling that the slowdown in consumer spending will likely extend to the second half of the year."The COVID-19 pandemic is unraveling the economy nationally and globally as most of the world moves toward a lockdown that entails the closure of significant portions of both the servic...Read More
RAPAPORT... Diamond jeweler Graff will contribute $1 million to help at-risk countries stem the spread of the coronavirus.The company will give the money through its charity foundation to the COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund, which was created by the World Health Organization (WHO). The funds will be used to provide essential medical supplies in vulnerable communities and to accelerate the d...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Petra Diamonds saw prices for its rough stones fall 27 per cent in February, compared with the same month last year, as coronavirus brought its mining operations to a halt. The UK-listed firm has put its Williamson mine in Tanzania on care and maintenance from the middle of April, and government lockdowns on its Finsch, Cullinan and Koffiefontein mines in South Africa will be revie...Read More
(IDEX Online) - British jeweler Graff has become the latest to announce a donation to combat coronavirus. It's giving $1m through the Graff Foundation charity to the COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund, set up by the United Nations Foundation. The money will go towards critical work tracking and understanding the spread of the virus, providing patients and frontline workers with appropriate car...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Lucapa has sold polished diamonds worth $2m, sidestepping coronavirus restrictions on its usual rough tender in Antwerp. The Australia-based miner has agreed a high-end cutting and polishing partnership with a high-end diamantaire for stones from its Mothae kimberlite mine in Lesotho so it can sell polished rather than rough stones. Lucapa receives the rough price upfront from its...Read More
Alrosa, Russia’s largest diamond producer, ended some long-term deals with customers as sales in March collapsed to half the level of a year ago because of the coronavirus pandemic.“We would like to thank those of our customers who stick to our long-term contracts though with several companies we had to terminate such contracts and switch to spot sales,” Deputy CEO Evgeny Agureev...Read More
RAPAPORT... Diamond jeweler Graff will contribute $1 million to help at-risk countries stem the spread of the coronavirus.The company will give the money through its charity foundation to the COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund, which was created by the World Health Organization (WHO). The funds will be used to provide essential medical supplies in vulnerable communities and to accelerate the d...Read More
RAPAPORT... Rough prices slumped at Petra Diamonds' March tenders as buyers sought discounts due to the slowdown in the market caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.Goods from Petra's South African mines sold for 27% less than in February on a like-for-like basis, the company reported last week. As a result, the miner chose to sell only 75% of its available volume and exported the rest to sell in A...Read More