Dual-listed Botswana Diamonds continues to develop its portfolio of eight exploration projects across three sub-Saharan countries – Botswana, South Africa and Zimbabwe.In South Africa, drilling on the Marsfontein ground-intersected kimberlite continues, where a significant bulk sample of the kimberlitic ground has been recovered and transported for analysis.AdvertisementThis will be processe...Read More
RAPAPORT... Petra Diamonds, Gem Diamonds, Firestone Diamonds and Lucapa Diamond Company are suspending operations at their mines in South Africa and Lesotho due to government measures to curb the spread of the coronavirus.South Africa has introduced a three-week nationwide lockdown starting this Thursday, prohibiting non-essential business activities. As a result, Petra will place its Cullina...Read More
RAPAPORT... India's government has approved concessions to ease the financial situation for diamond and jewelry businesses after the country went into lockdown to curb the spread of the coronavirus.The finance ministry raised the minimum value of a default that could trigger bankruptcy proceedings for small- and medium-sizes businesses to INR 10 million ($131,160) from INR 100,000 ($1,310), t...Read More
RAPAPORT... Gemfields recorded a profit in 2019 as the cancellation of a Zambian export duty bolstered the value of the company's Kagem emerald mine.The miner earned $39.1 million for the year, compared with a loss of $60.4 million in 2018, it estimated in a trading update Tuesday. This mainly reflected the reversal of a $21.6 million impairment charge at Kagem following the government's susp...Read More
PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Diamond miner Lucapa is set to receive its first A$7-million in revenue from its cutting and polishing partnership at the Lulo mine, in Angola.The company on Tuesday said that the first A$2.6-million payment will make up Lulo’s share of cutting and polishing profits from diamond manufacturer Safdico International with a further A$4.4-million from the sale of...Read More
The overall price of polished diamonds has dropped two per cent since 1 March, according to the IDEX Diamond Index. The most dramatic downward movement came last Thursday (20 March) when Indian exports were halted and the reality of coronavirus lockdowns worldwide hit home. The market-driven IDEX Diamond Index for stones of all sizes shows prices levelling slightly on Sunday and Monday (...Read More
RAPAPORT... Signet Jewelers will not issue a forecast for the first quarter of its 2021 fiscal year as it weighs the effects of the coronavirus pandemic on its retail operations."Retailers are already experiencing the severe impact...of COVID-19 on the global economy, and we are anticipating continued reduction in consumer spend," Signet CEO Virginia Drosos said Monday. "We are moving quickly...Read More
RAPAPORT... Lucapa Diamond Company has garnered $4 million in revenue from the first share of proceeds through its manufacturing partnership with Graff unit Safdico, it said Tuesday.Under the partnership, which Lucapa announced in January, Safdico has the rights to buy up to 60% of annual rough production from Lucapa's Lulo mine in Angola. Safdico will then cut and polish those stones, with p...Read More
RAPAPORT... The entire polishing industry in Surat has shut until March 31 after Indian authorities introduced tight restrictions to slow the spread of the coronavirus.Activities stopped on Tuesday in line with a lockdown enforced by the Gujarat state government. The Bharat Diamond Bourse in Mumbai also closed from Friday until the end of the month following similar measures in Maharashtra st...Read More
RAPAPORT... Michael Hill will shut its stores in Australia and New Zealand for an indefinite period in response to the rapid spread of the coronavirus and a slowdown in its store traffic."In Australia, the current 'social distancing' guidelines are not consistent with the day-to-day conduct of our business," the company said Monday. "The drop-off in trade the company has experienced in Austra...Read More
Various South African mining companies have pledged their support for President Cyril Ramaphosa’s Covid-19 directives and range of measures in respect of mitigating the impact of the pandemic on South Africa’s economy.The pledges follow the President’s address to the nation on Monday evening, announcing a 21-day lockdown for the country from midnight on Thursday, March 26, until...Read More
RAPAPORT... A number of jewelers and manufacturers are shutting temporarily following government orders amid the coronavirus outbreak.Stuller has closed its Louisiana headquarters and suspended all on-site operations in accordance with Governor John Bel Edwards's stay-at-home order, it said Monday. The site will remain closed through Sunday."Ultimately, we believe temporarily suspending opera...Read More
RAPAPORT... A number of jewelers and manufacturers are shutting temporarily following government orders amid the coronavirus outbreak.Stuller has closed its Louisiana headquarters and suspended all on-site operations in accordance with Governor John Bel Edwards's stay-at-home order, it said Monday. The site will remain closed through Sunday."Ultimately, we believe temporarily suspending opera...Read More
RAPAPORT... Mountain Province's losses intensified in 2019 as weaker anticipated diamond prices led to the devaluation of its Gahcho Ku?(C) mine.The miner posted a net loss of CAD 128.8 million ($89 million), compared with a loss of $14.1 million in 2018, it said Monday. The miner was hit by an impairment charge of CAD 115.8 million ($80 million) on the value of Gahcho Ku?(C)'s property, plan...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Tiffany has reported a $4.4 billion profit for last year, matching its record high in 2018.It said its focus now was on a return to normal after the coronavirus pandemic.The New York-based jeweller said profits for Q4 were down two per cent to to $201 million, partly as a result of costs involved in the proposed $16bn acquisition by the French luxury goods group LVMH (Mo?? <
RAPAPORT... The London Diamond Bourse (LDB) will close from Wednesday as the coronavirus spreads in the UK."The committee has come to the decision that it is in the best interest of our staff and members to close the bourse," the exchange said last week. "First and foremost, the LDB has a duty of care...and whilst we have been following rigorous health-and-safety guidance from Public Health E...Read More
RAPAPORT... The organizer of the Hong Kong shows scheduled for May has stopped preparations for the events, as quarantine rules in the municipality have made it impossible to host an international fair.Measures enforced by the Hong Kong government on March 19 require all travelers arriving in the city to isolate themselves for 14 days to stem a second wave of coronavirus cases. The rule will...Read More
RAPAPORT... Alrosa has appointed Nikolay Gorokhov head of its Vladivostok division.Gorokhov, who began working for Alrosa in 2001 in its Yakutsk Diamond Trading Company, will be responsible for rough-diamond sales in Vladivostok, the Russian miner said last week. He will also oversee logistics, Chinese market research and increasing the division's efficiency.Gorokhov replaces Semyon Lavrentiev, wh...Read More
RAPAPORT... Michael Hill will temporarily close all its Canadian stores amid the coronavirus pandemic, while locations in Australia and New Zealand currently remain open. The jeweler's Canadian stores are set to shut for a two-week period, but the company will reevaluate and may lift or extend the shutdown as necessary based on the health situation, it said last week. During the closure, most...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Signet, the world's largest retailer of diamond jewelry, is closing all its North American stores, but those in the UK will remain open.As the coronavirus pandemic spreads globally, it says it is being guided by its "core value of People First". Staff will be paid until 4 April.All Signet's stores in the USA and Canada, most of them trading as Kay Jewelers, Zales, Jared,...Read More