The largest investment project of Russian diamond miner Alrosa, the Verkhne-Munskoye diamond deposit, produced a 63.15 carat diamond earlier this month. The rough stone came from the deposit's Zapolyarnaya pipe. The crystal has an octahedral shape with small chips on the edges and tops. The mined diamond is transparent with a yellow hue. The Verkhne-Munskoye diamond deposit is located in the...Read More
The World Gold Council published its "mid-year outlook" for 2019. The WGC explained that there are four attributes that make gold a valuable strategic asset, by providing investors with a source of return; low correlation to major asset classes in both expansionary and recessionary periods; a mainstream asset that is as liquid as other financial securities; and a history of improved portfolio ris...Read More
The 2019 Global Multi-Stakeholder SIDS Partnership Dialogue, which took place at the United Nation in parallel with the UN High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF), focused on opportunities available to a group of 57 small-island developing states in the Pacific and Indian Oceans and the Caribbean, Mediterranean and South China Seas, examining how they may be advanced through m...Read More
RAPAPORT... A New York judge has refused to back down after ruling that Signet Jewelers' comments about the sexual-harassment claims it was facing could be part of a class-action suit against the retailer.On July 10, Judge Colleen McMahon ruled Signet shareholders could form a class action in their securities-fraud claim against the jeweler. The following day, Signet claimed it would seek a review...Read More
RAPAPORT... Sales of rough from Lucapa Diamond Company's Lulo mine doubled to $10 million in the second quarter, reflecting higher volumes and an increase in the average price, the company said Monday.Sales volume surged 63% to 5,573 carats, while the average price grew 22% to $1,800 per carat. Production at the deposit in Angola fell 24% to 3,868 carats, as Lucapa focused on processing...Read More
RAPAPORT... Gem Diamonds has recovered a white diamond weighing 140carats, the second over 100 carats it has reported this year. It found the high-quality stone on July 6 at its Let??eng mine in Lesotho, the company said Monday.In March, it found a 161-carat white diamond at the deposit. The miner recently recoveredtwo yellow diamonds from Let??eng weighing more than 100 carats. It retrieved a 13...Read More
RAPAPORT... Diamond production at Rio Tinto dropped 10% year on year inthe first half of 2019, as the miner recovered lower-grade ore at its Argylemine in Australia. The company's share of production at the Argyle and Diavik mines came to 8.3million carats for the six months ending June 30, the company said Tuesday.Argyle yielded 6.1 million carats, a 13% decrease compared to the same periodlast y...Read More
RAPAPORT... The Gemological Institute of America (GIA) has temporarilyreduced grading fees for certain smaller diamonds after recording a drop in submissionsduring the recent industry slump. The organization is slashing prices of reports by 10% forpolished weighing from 0.30 to 0.49 carats until October 15, the GIA said in aletter to clients last week, seen by Rapaport News. "Right now, GIA...Read More
Earlier this week, a number of leading Indian diamond manufacturers sent an urgent letter to the Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council of India (GJEPC), arguing that the "credibility of the gems and jewelry industry is going down in the eyes of the government and general public at large," requesting the GJPEC to do damage control. "It is well known fact that the industry is going through s...Read More
Alrosa of Russia, the world's leading diamond producing nation, and state-owned Zimbabwe Consolidated Diamond Company (ZCDC), reached agreement to develop diamond deposits in Zimbabwe. The agreement was signed by ALROSA Deputy CEO Vladimir Marchenko and ZCDC Non-Executive Board Chairman Killian Ukama. Emmerson Mnangagwa, President of the Republic of Zimbabwe, and Alrosa CEO Sergey Ivanov att...Read More
Stornoway Diamond reported that the average price per carat paid fell 9 percent during the second quarter. The company realized an average price per carat of $76, compared to $83 during the same period in 2018. On the other hand, the number of carats sold the Quebec diamond miner sold found buyers was 7 percent higher, reaching 460,832 carats. Stornoway President and CEO Patrick Godin said demand...Read More
Lucapa Diamond Company Limited, the diamond firm with mining interests in Angola, Botswana, Lesotho and Australia reported on its quarterly activities report for the period that ended 30 June 2019. It said that the arrival of a new mining vehicles at the f Lulo mine in Angola and a the accessing of higher-grade mining areas at the Mothae mine in Lesotho would make 2019 a successful and profitable...Read More
RAPAPORT... Sales of rough from Lucapa Diamond Company's Lulo mine doubled to $10 million in the second quarter, reflecting higher volumes and an increase in the average price, the company said Monday.Sales volume surged 63% to 5,573 carats, while the average price grew 22% to $1,800 per carat. Production at the deposit in Angola fell 24% to 3,868 carats, as Lucapa focused on processing...Read More
RAPAPORT... Diamond production at Rio Tinto dropped 10% year on year inthe first half of 2019, as the miner recovered lower-grade ore at its Argylemine in Australia. The company's share of production at the Argyle and Diavik mines came to 8.3million carats for the six months ending June 30, the company said Tuesday.Argyle yielded 6.1 million carats, a 13% decrease compared to the same periodlast y...Read More
Russian diamond miner Alrosa has entered into a joint venture (JV) agreement with Zimbabwe national diamond miner Zimbabwe Consolidated Diamond Company (ZCDC) to develop diamond deposits in the Southern African country.The agreement was signed by Alrosa deputy CEO Vladimir Marchenko and ZCDC chairpersonn Killian Ukama in the presence of Zimbabwe President Emmerson Mnangagwa and Alrosa CEO Sergey I...Read More
RAPAPORT... Belgium's rough-diamond trade fell to its lowest level since the financial crisis in the first half of 2019. Rough imports to the country declined 26% year on year to $4.36 billion during the period, according to recent data from the Antwerp World Diamond Centre (AWDC). The last time inbound shipments were below that level was when the trade was recovering from the fina...Read More
RAPAPORT...ABN Amro has scaled back its financing of rough-diamondpurchases, citing a lack of profitability in the manufacturing and tradingsectors. The Dutch bank will only offer credit if the buyer canmake money from the rough, its Antwerp branch said in a letter to clients Friday.It called on the trade to show restraint by purchasing rough only when that is the case. "For some time, we and the...Read More
RAPAPORT... Members of the Israel and Shanghai diamond exchanges are set to sign a cooperation agreement during the inaugural Israel Diamond Week that opens in the Chinese city on Tuesday.The three-day event marks the first time Israeli diamantaires are displaying their goods in an official capacity to members of the Shanghai Diamond Exchange (SDE), which organized the meet in partnership wit...Read More
Zimbabwean media reported that the country's diamond roduction is about to increase significantly as the Chinese firm Anjin Investments is about to resume diamond mining at Chiadzwa. At the same time, the Zim government is about to sign a new agreement with Russian miner Alrosa next week. Winston Chitando, Minister of Mines and Mining Development said in an interview with the Star radio stat...Read More
A new era of cooperation between the Israeli and Chinese diamond industries will be launched this week, when the first Israel Diamond Week opens in Shanghai on July 16, 2019. Jointly organized by the Israel Diamond Exchange (IDE) and the Shanghai Diamond Exchange (SDE), the event will take place at the SDE from July 16 - 18, 2019. This is the first time that Israeli diamantaires have been of...Read More