Almost exactly two years ago, the Venezuelan government signed a decree creating the Mining Arc of the Orinoco River National Development Strategic Zone, a project that outlined a 111,843 Sq.Km concession area (12.2 per cent of the country's landmass) for mining gold, diamond, iron ore, copper, bauxite, coltan, among other resources.Twenty-four months later, environmentalists say that the idea of...Read More
Canada's Lucara Diamond (TSX:LUC), the company that hit the jackpot in 2015 after finding the world's second-largest diamond, has taken a page of De Beers' books by investing in technology to track diamonds as they move through the supply chain.To that end, the Vancouver-based miner has acquired Clara Diamond Solutions, a digital platform aimed at transforming how rough precious rocks are sold...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Mehul Choksi, the owner of Gitanjali Gems and one of two major businessmen allegedly involved in creating India's biggest ever banking fraud of $1.8 billion, has claimed his innocence, but nonetheless told employees to look for other jobs. Choksi broke his silence at the weekend with an open letter to employees. Choksi and his nephew Nirav Modi, both owners of large j...Read More
RAPAPORT... Eira Thomas has taken over as CEO of Lucara Diamond Corp.,replacing William Lamb, the miner said Sunday.Thomas (pictured), who has worked in the mining industry for 25 years, is a founder and director of Lucara, and a cofounder and former CEO ofStornoway Diamond Corporation. Lamb will step down from his position onthe board of directors, but will continue with Lucara in an advisory rol...Read More
JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) - Botswana-focused miner Lucara Diamond has acquired Clara Diamond Solutions, a company whose primary asset is a secure, digital sales platform aimed at transforming how rough diamonds are sold.Lucara noted that the platform would unlock value for diamond producers and manufacturers alike.Advertisement"Clara uses proprietary analytics, together with cloud and b...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Lucara Diamond Corp. has announced that William Lamb is retiring as its Chief Executive Officer and stepping down from the Board of Directors. He will be replaced by Eira Thomas, a founder and director of the company who will be assuming the role of CEO. In addition, Catherine McLeod Seltzer, also a Lucara co-founder, will be joining the Board of Directors. The miner...Read More
(IDEX Online) - The Fourth Mediterranean Gemmological and Jewelry Conference (MGJC) will take place in Budva, Montenegro, from May 18-20. The event is organized by CGL-GRS Canada and IGL Greece and supported by IIDGR-De Beers (United Kingdom), Octonus (Finland), MAGI (Italy/Finland), MSU Gem Center(Russia), Gemewizard (Israel), Gemetrix (Australia) and NAJA (USA). The conference of...Read More
JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) - The first consignment of 43 drums of concentrate from the BK16 kimberlite project, in Botswana, have been securely moved to TSX-listed Tsodilo Resources' final recovery area in its security complex in Maun.This followed the January 18 commissioning of a dense media separation (DMS) plant at BK16, using the mine's historic tailing material to test the plant...Read More
RAPAPORT... Gitanjali Gems managing director Mehul Choksi has told the company's employees to look for another job, as asset seizures have made it impossible to pay salaries, The Times of India reported.Indian authorities are investigating Choksi (pictured) and his nephew,fellow jewelry tycoon Nirav Modi, after Punjab National Bank claimed the pairdefrauded it of $1.8 billion. The executives collu...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Sales of fine jewelry and fine watches rose by 8.8 percent in the U.S. market in December 2017, when compared to the same month a year ago, as the graph below illustrates. Sales were an estimated $18.1 billion, according to preliminary data from the U.S. Commerce Department as the holiday season came to a climax. Strong 2017 Jewelry Sales Results Alth...Read More
RAPAPORT... Zimbabwe Consolidated Diamond Company (ZCDC) will auction 1.56 million carats of diamonds over the next two months, its firstsales in a year, Reuters reported Thursday. The state-owned miner last held a sale in March 2017, before haltingtrading while it restructured. The auctions - which will take place in Marchand April -will come from the stockpiles ZCDC has accrued since then. The c...Read More
(IDEX Online) - The United Nations' Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) has renewed, through CIBJO, the World Jewelry Confederation, its official recognition of the Italian Exhibition Group Spa (IEG), as a body promoting and providing educational services and programs related to Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and sustainability within the jewelry, precious metal and gemstone supply chain,...Read More
RAPAPORT... The Antwerp World Diamond Centre (AWDC) has appointed Nishit (Bali) Parikh president, a position he held from 2010to 2012, its board said last week.Parikh (pictured), the CEO of Diarough, will replaceoutgoing president St?(C)phane Fischler, who is stepping down as AWDC head to take on the global role of president at the WorldDiamond Council (WDC). Fischler has served as president...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Sarine Technologies Ltd said that Dominion Diamond Mines ULC, Canada's largest independent diamond producer, will introduce an enhanced CanadaMark website incorporating the new Sarine Diamond Journey, at the upcoming Hong Kong International Jewelry Show (1-5 March). The CanadaMark hallmark program is Dominion's strategic initiative to assure the integrity of the supply...Read More
(IDEX Online) - The Antwerp World Diamond Centre (AWDC), the industry organization representing the interests of 1,600 diamond companies in Antwerp, has appointed Nishit (Bali) Parikh as its new President, replacing outgoing President St?(C)phane Fischler. The Board of Directors also appointed Freddy Inzlicht and Samir Mehta as Vice-Presidents, respectively representing the bourses and the...Read More
As Elizabeth Taylor once said: "I adore wearing gems, but not because they are mine. You can't possess radiance, you can only admire it."It's a good philosophy, because when it comes to the world's biggest, rarest and most extraordinary gemstone discoveries, no one-not even billionaire President Donald Trump-could afford the possession.We're not talking about the average diamond engagement ring th...Read More
VANCOUVER (miningweekly.com) – Finland has ousted Saskatchewan as the top international jurisdiction for mining investment, Canada's Fraser Institute announced on Thursday.Canada's leading independent think-tank, the Fraser Institute, administers its Annual Survey of Mining Companies and ranks jurisdictions around the world based on a combination of their geological attractiveness fo...Read More
Zimbabwe's Minister of Mines, Winston Chitando, held a press conference this week to announce that, following its one-year break, the country has resumed diamond auctions and expects to sell 1.558 million carats of diamonds over the next two months.According to Chitando, the Zimbabwe Consolidated Diamond Company will conduct separate auctions in March and April to sell all the diamonds it has stoc...Read More
Anglo American's De Beers, the world's largest rough diamond producer by value, said Thursday it plans to mine precious rocks this year at a rate not seen since the 2008 global financial crisis.Delivering its preliminary financial results for 2017, the miner said it intends to dig up as much as 36 million carats this year, up from 33.5 million in 2017, thanks mainly to the participation of its ne...Read More
Global miner Anglo American (LON:AAL) was full of good news Thursday as it announced it had doubled its net profit in 2017, slashed debt and said it would pay its highest dividend in a decade, thanks mainly to rising commodity prices and lower costs.The company, the last of the world's largest miners to report annual results this month, said earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortiz...Read More