VANCOUVER (miningweekly.com) – The IHS Materials Price Index (MPI) is in its ninth consecutive week of gains, jumping 2.8% last week – the strongest weekly performance since early September.According to IHS Markit economist Cole Hassay, the MPI was supported by broad-based positive indicators, with eight of ten subcomponents rising. Ferrous metals and oil prices were among the biggest...Read More
JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – South Africa needs to aim towards smarter mining, smarter agriculture and smarter manufacturing.“It’s about taking all the major sectors of the economy forward, with each feeding on the other,” says Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) research and information head Jorge Maia of the roles that must be played by agriculture, mining and m...Read More
Botswana's Okavango Diamond Company (ODC) posted a 4 percent jump in sales to $567 million in 2017, the highest annual sales since its formation in 2013, the company said on Thursday.The state-owned company sold 3.41 carats of diamonds in 2017, managing director Marcus ter Haar told Reuters, adding that the year was characterised by healthy demand and prices in the first half, weakening from July...Read More
Russian miner Alrosa (MCX:ALRS), the world's top diamond producer by output, saw 2017 sales fall to $4.3 billion, from $4.5 billion in the previous year, as the average price of its rough rocks declined.Alrosa's vice president Yury Okoemov said that despite the dip last year was a good one for the company with demand being fairly stable, and market activity in line with the seasonality and the fi...Read More
Diamond trading steady after positive US retail season. Signet disappoints again as Nov.-Dec. sales -3% to $1.9B due to glitches in outsourced credit program, lower sales of Ever Us line, and less effective promotions. Department stores rebound, with Macy's and J.C. Penney seeing jewelry growth. Richemont jewelry maisons' 3Q sales +5% to $2.2B. Rising expectations for Chinese New Year (Feb. 16) af...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Shmuel Schnitzer has stepped down as Chairman of the Israel Diamond Institute after less than two years in the post. The IDI's Board of Directors has stated its appreciation for his years of service as Chairman of IDI and as a leader of the diamond industry. The IDI Board released a statement saying, "The Board of Directors of the Israel Diamond Institute would...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Robbers stole an estimated $5.4 million of jewelry and other goods from a boutique in the Ritz Hotel in Paris on Wednesday. Although police managed to arrest three suspects in central Paris, but at least two others got away, a police official told the media. A police official said Thursday that one perpetrator dropped a bag with jewels and hatchets when his motorcycle...Read More
RAPAPORT... Businessman Kevin O'Leary has sound advice for people who are about to get married: Don't get into debt. So far, so sensible. Except he is also recommending they skip the engagement ring, blaming our industry in the process as the "people trying to figure out how to extract money from you." In an interview with CNBC Make It, he singles out the wedding ring retailers who, in his op...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Russian mining giant ALROSA sold $4.17 billion of rough diamonds last year. "In 2017, rough diamond demand was fairly stable, market activity was in line with the seasonality and our expectations," said ALROSA Vice President Yury Okoemov. "The average price of rough diamonds sold by ALROSA was a little lower than a year ago, which is due to the changed sales assortme...Read More
RAPAPORT... Shmuel Shnitzer has left his post as chairman of the IsraelDiamond Institute (IDI). The IDI board appointed Boaz Moldawsky acting chairman,the institute announced Thursday. Shnitzer (pictured) has served in numerous industry positions over the past 30 years, including as president of the Israel Diamond Exchange (IDE) and cofounder of the WorldDiamond Council. He began his term as...Read More
RAPAPORT... Sterling Jewelers has sued Alex and Ani for more than $2million over a supply deal that resulted in a dispute over inventory returns,court filings show.The two companies entered into an agreement in August 2015under which Sterling would buy merchandise from Alex and Ani to sell in some ofSterling's Jared stores, according to the lawsuit filed in Ohio last month.That deal stipulated tha...Read More
RAPAPORT... Tiffany & Co.'s senior vice president of strategy and businessdevelopment Jean-Marc Bellaiche is set to leave the company at the end ofMarch, according to a Tuesday SEC filing. Bellaiche has been responsible for non-jewelry products,such as watches, leather goods, eyewear and fragrances, since he joined thecompany in 2014.Tiffany will not replace Bellaiche, but is planning to absor...Read More
RAPAPORT... Sales at Richemont's jewelry maisons grew 5% yearon year to $2.18 billion (EUR 1.83 billion) in the fiscal third quarter of 2017, which included the holiday season. The jewelry maisons, which include Cartier and Van Cleef & Arpels, were the company's strongest performers for the three months that ended December 31. Overall group sales advanced 1% to $3.72 billion (EUR 3....Read More
JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – Russian miner Alrosa’s diamond sales fell to $4.27-billion in 2017, from $4.45-billion in the previous year, as the average price of its rough diamonds dipped.Reporting on the group’s 2017 sales figures, VP Yury Okoemov explained on Thursday that the average price of rough diamonds sold by Alrosa was “a little lower than a year ago”,...Read More
RAPAPORT... Shmuel Shnitzer has left his post as chairman of the IsraelDiamond Institute (IDI). The IDI board appointed Boaz Moldawsky acting chairman,the institute announced Thursday. Shnitzer (pictured) has served in numerous industry positions over the past 30 years, including as president of the Israel Diamond Exchange (IDE) and cofounder of the WorldDiamond Council. He began his term as...Read More
MOSCOW, Jan 10 (Reuters) - The Russian Federal Anti-Monopoly Service (FAS) said on Wednesday it is investigating the forthcoming sale of natural gas assets by Russian diamond producer Alrosa after a complaint from would-be buyer, energy giant Rosneft.Russia's largest oil producer Rosneft, run by a close ally of President Vladimir Putin, has said it was not satisfied with some terms of the sale and...Read More
RAPAPORT... Signet Jewelers reported holiday sales fell 3% year on year to $1.88 billion, as issues relating to outsourcing its credit transactions adversely impacted the business. Signet in October sold its prime credit program to Alliance Data Systems for $960 million, meaning that credit purchases were now outsourced to the third party rather than extended by Signet. However, disruptions in the...Read More
RAPAPORT... RapNet launched a new site on Tuesday, promising asafer, simpler and smarter way of trading diamonds online. The aspects of RapNet that users enjoy will stay, but theredesigned platform will be easier to navigate, getting those users to theirdesired diamonds with fewer clicks. There are also handy tools such as a pricecalculator, the ability to compare up to 10 diamonds at once,...Read More
(IDEX Online) - The G? 1/4 belin Gem Lab and blockchain company Everledger have signed a partnership "to create new transparency levels in the gemstone industry". The G? 1/4 belin Gem Lab, is a well-known gem lab, while Everledger is a global emerging technology enterprise. They said in a joint statement that are teaming up to drive more transparency in the gemstone industry by creating the...Read More
RAPAPORT... Kohl's and Target both reported sales growth during the holiday season, continuing the positive trend seen in the US retail sector this year. Kohl's reported a 6.9% year on year rise in total sales, with growth across most categories."We are very pleased with our holiday-period sales, which wereconsistently strong through November and December." said Kevin Mansell, chairman...Read More