(IDEX Online) - Hilde Hardeman, a foreign services chief for the European Commission (EC), is to serve as the Chair of the Kimberley Process this year. Hardeman heads the EC's Service for Foreign Policy Instruments (FPI), a body which runs some part of the European Union's diplomatic work. The EU announced earlier in January that the KP Chair position would be held by Federica Mogh...Read More
JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – A new report has revealed explosive growth in the number of artisanal and small-scale miners worldwide over the past two decades amid rising mineral prices and a general struggle in earning a living from agriculture.The Intergovernmental Forum (IGF) on Mining, Minerals, Metals and Sustainable Development estimated a more than doubling in the number of artisa...Read More
RAPAPORT... Hilde Hardeman will be the chair of the Kimberley Process for2018, the European Commission (EC) has confirmed.Hardeman is head of the EC's Service for Foreign PolicyInstruments (FPI), which manages aspects of the European Union's diplomacy. She will take charge of the KP on behalf of the EU, thisyear's chair, an FPI spokesperson said in an email to RapaportNews Friday. Earlier this mon...Read More
RAPAPORT... The Diamond Manufacturers and ImportersAssociation of America (DMIA) reelected Ronnie VanderLinden (pictured) as president forthe 2018-to-2020 term. DMIA members voted in Saul Goldberg, Eli Haas, Matthew Schamrothand Fred Knobloch as vice presidents of its executive board, while Parag Shahwas chosen as vice president and treasurer. Stuart Samuels will fill therole of secretary. Ad...Read More
RAPAPORT... The US jewelry industry continued to downsize in 2017, with 26,031 businesses operating at the end of the year, down 3.8% from the previous year, the Jewelers Board of Trade (JBT) reported. Some 1,022 jewelry companies closed during the year, while 156 opened, data the JBT released last week showed. Out of the closures, 852 were for reasons other than financial difficult...Read More
RAPAPORT... Rio Tinto expects diamond production of between 17 million and 20 million carats in 2018, representing a decrease in output compared to last year. The company did not explain the expected drop.Diamond production in 2017 grew 21% to 21.6 million carats, driven by a 23% jump in output at its Argyle mine in Australia. The company also owns a 60% stake in the Diavik mine in Canada, where p...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Sales of fine jewelry and fine watches rose by 8.4 percent in the U.S. market in November 2017, when compared to the same month a year ago, as the graph below illustrates. Sales were an estimated $8.2 billion, according to preliminary data from the U.S. Commerce Department. The November sales performance was higher than the figure for the month which came in at a 7.0 percen...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Gem Diamonds has recovered another large exceptional quality diamond at the Let??eng mine in Lesotho just a week after reporting finding a 910-carat stone. This time, the miner has found a 149-carat, D color Type IIa diamond, with excellent shape. It is the fourth high-quality diamond of over 100 carats recovered so far this year. Read More
The South African mining industry has had a tumultuous time because of the controversial Reviewed Draft Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment Charter for the South African Mining and Minerals Industry, also known as Mining Charter III, which, amid lingering political uncertainty, led to low investor confidence and continuing breaches of trust between government and industry, resulting in declinin...Read More
(IDEX Online) - The VICENZAORO January show kicked off on Friday, with 1,500 brands taking part in the international jewelry show organized by the Italian Exhibition Group (IEG) which was created by a merger between Rimini Fiera and Fiera di Vicenza. Undersecretary of the Ministry of Economic Development, Ivan Scalfarotto, said at the opening ceremony: "Rimini and Vicenza, togeth...Read More
BEI HU – Diamonds are set to slump further, according to a hedge fund whose bet on marijuana made it the world’s best performer in 2016.Prices of the precious gem may slump as much as 10% this year as it loses appeal with younger consumers and faces challenges from synthetic alternatives, said Singapore-based Ben Cleary, who co-manages the $500-million Tribeca Global Natural Resources...Read More
Dealers upbeat and maintaining firm prices, with expectations of higherrough prices and 1Q stock replenishment. Rough market robust, with large DeBeers sight expected next week. Jewelers discounting less amid increase in consumerspending this holiday season. US equity markets hit new highs as dollarweakens. Tiffany & Co. renews growth as Nov.-Dec. sales +8% to $1.1B,comparable-store sales +5%....Read More
The findings of a survey conducted by the Chamber of Mines (CoM), which were released last month, indicate that, if South Africa’s mining industry shifts its focus to create an attractive policy, regulatory and governance environment – through ethical leadership, good governance and the adoption of competitive, stable and predictable policies – considerable new investment in mini...Read More
JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – South Africa-focused diamond miner BlueRock Diamonds made a number of planned modifications to the crushing circuit at its Kareevlei diamond mine, near Kimberley, during a three-week Christmas break.The modifications are expected to improve the method of feeding ore to the crushers.AdvertisementThese changes have been tested and the crushing circuit was back...Read More
RAPAPORT PRESS RELEASE, January 18, 2018, New York... The Rapaport Group released its annual Diamond Price Statistics Report for 2017 today, evaluating the performance of polished-diamond prices. The report provides an in-depth analysis of the past year's trends and compares the price changes within specific diamond categories.The last 12 months saw some of those categories perform better tha...Read More
2018 kicked off with a call for smarter sectors to boost the economy, a praise of Glencore’s asset management and a sparkle of hope for the diamond city of Kimberley. Mining Weekly editor Martin Creamer unpacks the headlines with Creamer Media's Sashnee Moodley.AdvertisementRead More
RAPAPORT... Lucapa Diamond Company recovered a 43-carat yellow diamond,the largest colored gem-quality stone it has unearthed to date at its Lulomine in Angola, it reported Wednesday. A 39-carat pink diamond the miner found at Lulo inSeptember 2016 previously held the title. Along with the yellow gem, Lucapa also recovered alow-quality 116-carat diamond, the second stone larger than 100 carats th...Read More
JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – A new Proudly South African mine tunnel borer that requires no blasting, delivers higher production advances, comes with a collaboration imprimatur and can be retrofitted to existing operations, will be unveiled at next month’s Mining Indaba in Cape Town and commissioned in the third quarter of this year.Johannesburg Stock Exchange-listed Master Drilli...Read More
RAPAPORT... US polished-diamond imports jumped 11% year on year inNovember, government data showed. Shipments grew to $1.77 billion as a 26% rise in the averageprice of imports - to $2,573 per carat - outweighed a 12% drop in volume to687,000 carats. Polished exports declined 13% to $1.48 billion, according tothe recent figures. Net polished imports, representing imports minus exports,stood at po...Read More
RAPAPORT... Judith McKenna will become the new president and CEO of Walmart International, the US retail chain's second-largest operating section, replacing David Cheesewright. McKenna will continue in her current role as executive vicepresident and chief operating officer of Walmart US until February 1, when shewill assume her new role, the company reported. She has been with the retai...Read More