RAPAPORT... Alrosa will deepen its Akhail underground deposit, extendingthe mine's life by 10 years and adding 20 million carats to the resource. The project will cost the Russia-based miner RUB 10 billion($156.9 million), and will be carried out in phases starting from 2020, the company said Monday. Oreextraction from the lower depths is expected to begin in 2027 and continueuntil 2044. "The pro...Read More
RAPAPORT... Rio Tinto's Argyle mine has yielded the largest gem-qualitywhite diamond in its 35-year history, the miner said Tuesday. The 28.84-carat stone, named Argyle Octavia for itsoctahedral shape, was discovered at the Australia-located mine last month. "This discovery...is a testament to the extraordinary Argyleorebody that continues to deliver these miracles of nature, even as it nears the...Read More
RAPAPORT... The Guangzhou Diamond Exchange (GZDE) has signed a strategiccooperation agreement with China's major synthetics suppliers to develop andpromote lab-grown diamonds in the country, the bourse said Tuesday. The parties signed the contract last week during a forum onthe benefits of synthetic stones that took place during the 2019 ChinaInternational, Gold Jewellery & Gem Fair in Shenzhe...Read More
RAPAPORT... Sarine Technologies expects a loss in the first quarter, amid market uncertainties that led to soft demandfor equipment used in diamond manufacturing. The net loss will be between $1 million and $1.5 million, the company cautioned last week, compared with a profit of $3.1 million reported for thesame period last year. Sarine also predicts revenue of $11 million, which would be 34% belo...Read More
In November 2015, Vancouver-based Lucara Diamond Corp. announced that it had recovered a 1,111-carat diamond - the second largest, gem quality stone ever found in the world - from its Karowe mine in Botswana. Following a country-wide contest, the stone was named Lesedi La Rona - meaning "our light".Lucara put the Lesedi La Rona up for sale, but initially felt the price offered was too low. The min...Read More
RAPAPORT... The International Diamond Council (IDC) has elected HRD Antwerpchairman Julien Drybooms as chairman of its board. He has also served on the executive committee of the WorldFederation of Diamond Bourses (WFDB) and is the owner of diamond companyDrybooms & Zonen. "I am very pleased to take on this important position and Iam honored to have been elected," Drybooms said last week. "Th...Read More
Rio Tinto's (ASX, LON: RIO) iconic Argyle mine in Western Australia has yielded one of the largest rare, gem-quality white diamonds in its 35-year history.The 28.84-carat stone, named Argyle Octavia for its unusual octahedral shape, was found in March, the miner said.The octahedral-shaped 28-carat stone is one of the largest ever produced by Rio Tinto's Argyle diamond mine, located in east Kimberl...Read More
The price of mesh-quality wire rod exported from the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) has decreased by $5 per tonne over the past week, sources told Fastmarkets on Tuesday April 23.Fastmarkets' weekly assessment of the price of CIS export wire rod was $500-510 per tonne fob Black Sea on April 23, moving down from $505-515 per tonne fob a week earlier.Limited demand for finished steel in...Read More
The price for steel slab exported from the Commonwealth of Independent States has softened by $5 per tonne week on week, amid low demand and reduced market activity because of the long Easter holiday weekend, market participants told Fastmarkets on Tuesday April 23.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for CIS export slab was $470-480 per tonne fob Black Sea on April 23, down from $475-485 per tonn...Read More
Ame celebrated the opening of its flagship store at Westfield Century City Mall in Los Angeles, California, earlier this month. Launched in 2018, Ame is a modern fine jewelry brand under the creative direction of Elinor Avni, whose collections "are designed to break free from tradition, allowing diamond jewelry to be worn with freedom and personal style," according to a news release. The fir...Read More
The Gemological Institute of America (GIA) has appointed Shahdeh Ammadi to the newly-created position of director of institute relations. Ammadi will oversee GIA's global alumni program, the GemKids program for young, aspiring gemologists as well as guest services at the GIA headquarters. "The more than 130,000 active GIA alumni in 65 chapters around the world are important ambassadors for ou...Read More
Prices for flat steel products imported into the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia dropped over the past week due to limited demand, sources told Fastmarkets on Tuesday April 23.End-user demand has been weak recently, so buyers have been unwilling to place orders for large tonnages, they added.The Islamic holy month of Ramadan, when business normally slows down, starts in early...Read More
RAPAPORT... Signet Jewelers is laying off an undisclosed number of employeesfrom its Ohio and Dallas locations, after it failed to find enough interest ina voluntary exit package it offered workers. The cuts are part of a cost-saving effort the retailer hasbeen instituting over the past several months in line with its transformationplan. "In order to make our company more agile and efficient andt...Read More
Diamond miner De Beers Group has appointed its COO Nancy Liu CEO of its Forevermark brand.She succeeds Stephen Lussier, who remains De Beers group executive for consumer, brands VP and now also Forevermark chairperson.AdvertisementThis way Lussier will be able to increase his focus on shaping the company’s strategy at consumer level, the company said in a recent statement.“Fortunately,...Read More
Stuller, the Lafayette, Louisiana-based one-stop-gem and jewelry manufacturer and supplier, announced it has become a certified member of the Responsible Jewellery Council (RJC). "Ethical sourcing, supply chain transparency, workplace safety and other similar issues, are of increasing concern to more and more consumers and businesses," Stanley Zale, vice president of diamond and gemstone procureme...Read More
Australia's Argyle diamond mine has produced one of the largest gem quality white diamonds in its 35 years of operation. The 28.84 carat gem quality white diamond was recovered from the east Kimberley mine in March 2019. Named Argyle Octavia in recognition of its beautiful octahedral shape, this rough diamond will be sold by tender in Antwerp later this year. Arnaud Soirat, chief executive...Read More
Rebar producers that re-roll billet in Egypt have appealed to the Egyptian government to reconsider a recently imposed safeguard duty on imports of the semi-finished product.The country's Ministry of Trade & Industry began imposing a temporary import duty of 3-15% for billet on April 15, in addition to a 25% tariff on rebar, following an investigation that began at the end of last month. The provi...Read More
The Bharat Diamond Bourse (BDB) announced it will host the 2019 Bharat Diamond Week (BDW) from 14 to16 October, just ahead of the Diwali festival. The BDW's second edition of 2018 saw more than 1,000 visitors from India and across the world who did business with 125 Indian exhibitors of polished diamonds. BDB Vice-President Mehul Shah, who heads the Bharat Diamond Week, said: "The timing of...Read More
RAPAPORT... Swiss watch exports rose 4.4% to CHF 1.74 billion ($1.72billion) in March as UK retailers continued to stockpile in preparation forBrexit. "The UK was a special case once again, because ofstockpiling in the run-up to Brexit," the Federation of the Swiss WatchIndustry reported last week. "Other European markets continued to lose ground." Exports to the UK rose 76% to CHF 134.7 million (...Read More
Russia’s predominantly State-owned global diamond mining major, Alrosa, and Angola’s State-owned national diamond mining company, Endiama, signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) early this month.This marks the latest stage in the development of the relationship between the two entities, which have been cooperating for more than 25 years. They are the cofounders and main shareholder...Read More