Times of crisis and chaos necessitate introspection, creativity and adaptation, and while the Covid-19 pandemic is a challenge that is unprecedented in recent human memory, it highlights how essential continual research, innovation and planning are for the sustainability of society.Challenging periods also tend to reveal or reaffirm people’s raison d’être, and for public– p...Read More
JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – The Lesotho government has permitted diamond mines to reopen from Monday, ahead of the May 5 lockdown extension, Gem Diamonds said on Friday.Mining Weekly can report that Lesotho is authorising diamond-mining’s recommencement in the Mountain Kingdom, contingent on compliance with Covid-19 health and safety guidelines.AdvertisementThe small country surr...Read More
JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – Most of Anglo American’s mining sites around the world are continuing to operate, with appropriate health, hygiene and distancing measures.The diversified mining company said on Thursday that it was taking all necessary steps to ensure the security and integrity of its assets for the long term and preserving its ability to return affected op...Read More
RAPAPORT... De Beers has reduced its full-year production guidance by 7 million carats, putting the miner on course for its lowest output since 2009. The miner expects to produce between 25 million and 27 million carats in 2020, compared to the 32 million to 34 million in its original projection, it said Thursday. The revised forecast for 2020 was due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandem...Read More
RAPAPORT... Kering's jewelry and watch divisions have been "hard hit" by COVID-19, dragging revenues down for the first quarter, the French luxury group reported Monday.The company, which owns Boucheron, Pomellato and Qeelin, said income for its "other houses" segment - including jewelry and watches - fell 4.1% to EUR 553.3 million ($597.1 million) in the three months ending March 31.It noted...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Insurance firm Jewelers Mutual Group is making its online safety and security learning platform freely available to non-policy holders during the coronavirus crisis. More than 1,000 client businesses already use its JM University for annual training and new hire orientation. It is now being made available to the entire industry. JM University comprises 10 structured courses,...Read More
(IDEX Online) Canada's troubled Dominion Diamond Mines has been granted insolvency protection, a month after closing its Ekati mine to prevent the spread of coronavirus. The Calgary-based company is speaking to lenders, creditors, equity owner and other stakeholders to "solicit and evaluate strategic alternatives to restructure the company financially and operationally." It filed for ins...Read More
(IDEX Online) - The overall growth in sales of watches and jewelry slowed in the USA in February, as the coronavirus crisis escalated and the nation's first cases were confirmed.The year-on-year increase was 3.4 per cent, down from 4.7 per cent last December and 4.1 per cent in January.Meanwhile, overall jewelry and watch sales figures for recent months have been revi...Read More
RAPAPORT... Technology company Everledger has partnered with De Beers sightholder Shairu Gems Diamonds and its subsidiary Atit Diamond Corporation to offer more transparent data on the goods they supply, as well as a mechanism to offset their carbon footprint.The London-based business, which provides blockchain services to the diamond industry, has teamed up with the suppliers to collect, tra...Read More
RAPAPORT... India's leading diamond-trade organizations have called on members to stop importing rough for at least a month to prevent an oversupply and ensure banks maintain their credit to the sector.Companies should consider pausing rough imports from May 15 for a minimum of 30 days, according to a letter from the Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) and four other industry...Read More
RAPAPORT... A number of diamond-mining companies that have halted production during the COVID-19 crisis will find it difficult to resume operations amid their struggles with debt, analysts have predicted.The warning comes after several miners announced their assets would remain on care and maintenance until rough-diamond prices returned to a level at which their operations are viable to resta...Read More
RAPAPORT... Dominion Diamond Mines has filed for and received insolvency protection, a month after suspending operations at its Ekati deposit in Canada due to the coronavirus pandemic.The company was granted protection from its creditors under the Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA) while it restructures, it said Wednesday. It now intends to use the order - which was issued by the Alb...Read More
Sentiment weak due to slump in demand since early March. Some orders from China and Hong Kong, but US and European markets remain in lockdown. Dealers frustrated by inability to resume trading. Indian industry groups call for one-month suspension of rough imports beginning May 15 in effort to ease liquidity and deplete existing polished inventory. Mid-tier miners under pressure with weak prospects...Read More
JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – Diversified mining company Anglo American reported on Thursday that its first-quarter diamond production in South Africa increased by 97% to 0.8-million carats as the final ore from the opencast Venetia mine in Limpopo was mined prior to transitioning to underground mining,Venetia’s underground mine will extend operational life to 2045.AdvertisementIn...Read More
JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – Diamond production in South Africa increased by 97% to 0.8-million carats as the final ore from the opencast Venetia mine in Limpopo is mined prior to transitioning to underground mining, Anglo American reported on Thursday.Venetia’s underground mine will extend operational life to 2045.AdvertisementIn its first quarter production report for the three...Read More
RAPAPORT... Kering's jewelry and watch divisions have been "hard hit" by COVID-19, dragging revenues down for the first quarter, the French luxury group reported Monday.The company, which owns Boucheron, Pomellato and Qeelin, said income for its "other houses" segment - including jewelry and watches - fell 4.1% to EUR 553.3 million ($597.1 million) in the three months ending March 31.It noted...Read More
RAPAPORT... Technology company Everledger has partnered with De Beers sightholder Shairu Gems Diamonds and Atit Diamond Corporation to offer more transparent data on the goods they supply, as well as a mechanism to offset their carbon footprint.The London-based business, which provides blockchain services to the diamond industry, has teamed up with the suppliers to collect, track and report r...Read More
(IDEX Online) - India's government should halt imports of rough diamonds to help its cutters and polishers recover from the COVID-19 crisis, says industry veteran Chaim Even-Zohar.In an exclusive and far-reaching Memo for IDEX Online he proposes a three-month moratorium to help over-stocked producers stuck in the "uncomfortable mid-stream" to shift existing inventories totalling up to $...Read More
RAPAPORT... The 2020 JCK Las Vegas and Luxury shows have been canceled, the events' organizer has confirmed, as the coronavirus continues to sweep across the globe."This decision was made in response to the unprecedented challenges faced by JCK's jewelry community," Sarin Bachmann, Reed Jewelry Group's vice president for the shows, said Tuesday. "We know [it] impacts the entire industry and i...Read More
RAPAPORT... Luk Fook's same-store sales dropped 57% in the fourth fiscal quarter amid extensive retail closures for the first two months of the year and sluggish footfall in March.The jeweler saw a 60% year-on-year slide in same-store sales - at self-operated branches open for at least a year - across Hong Kong and Macau for the three months ending March 31, it reported last week. This follow...Read More