RAPAPORT... Lucapa Diamond Company earned $10.4 million fromits latest sale of rough stones, bringing its total for the year to date to$45.9 million. The miner sold 5,469 carats from its Lulo mine inAngola for $5.9 million, at an average price of $1,087 per carat, it reportedThursday. This figure does not include a 46-carat pink diamond recovered lastyear that is currently being assessed for polis...Read More
(IDEX Online) - The power is still out at Firestone Diamonds plc's Liqhobong mine in Lesotho. The company said that despite attempts to resolve the problem of power fluctuations, there is not enough power to operate the mine's processing plant. The disruption is part of two-month maintenance shutdown by the Muela Hydropower Station (MHS), which supplies the mine's power. Since...Read More
(IDEX Online) - The GIA (Gemological Institute of America) is expanding an education program that helps artisanal gemstone miners evaluate the quality of the rough they mine. The organization is committing $1.3 million to bring the program, which started in Tanzania, to Madagascar, Nigeria, Rwanda and Zambia. Working with Pact, a Washington D.C.-based international development nonprofit organ...Read More
Aim-listed BlueRock Diamonds achieved record production of 92 500 t in the third quarter, compared with the 63 600 t produced in the third quarter of last year.This was 45% higher year-on-year, notwithstanding the suspension of operations for 19 days in July owing to crushing circuit works.AdvertisementThe company, which owns and operates the Kareevlei diamond mine, in Kimberley, achieve...Read More
RAPAPORT... The Diamond Empowerment Fund (DEF) has grantedits largest-ever award, to be shared among nine beneficiaries across three continents.The $470,000 training and education grant,released early last week, is designed to support girls' education,entrepreneurship and youth empowerment across India, Africa and Canada. Projects include funding for a new science,technology, engineering and mathe...Read More
RAPAPORT... Alrosa's sales fell 24% year on year to $258.7 million inSeptember, amid continued market weakness. However, the total was the highest in four months, and reflecteda noticeable recovery in the small-stone sector, the Russian miner said last week. "It is partly due to the traditional autumn market revivalafter the holiday period, and a slight increase in demand from Indian cutters...Read More
RAPAPORT... De Beers will partner with two major retailers topromote Lightbox, its affordable lab-grown-diamond-jewelry brand. Lightbox's $800-per-carat jewelry is set to be soldin select Bloomingdale's stores, including in New York City and San Francisco, thecompany said last week. It will also be distributed through 30 stores belongingto independent retailer Reeds Jewelers, which are primarily l...Read More
RAPAPORT... Six synthetic-diamond companies have signed up for apilot program aimed at creating a sustainability standard for the sector. SCS Global Services, a third-party auditing specialist,will analyze companies' environmental, social and governance records, with thegoal of devising an independent sustainability certification for lab-growndiamonds. Crystal brand Swarovski and jeweler Helzberg...Read More
RAPAPORT... The Diamond Empowerment Fund (DEF) has grantedits largest-ever award, to be shared among nine beneficiaries across three continents.The $470,000 training and education grant,released early last week, is designed to support girls' education,entrepreneurship and youth empowerment across India, Africa and Canada. Projects include funding for a new science,technology, engineering and mathe...Read More
RAPAPORT... De Beers will partner with two major retailers topromote Lightbox, its brand of affordable lab-grown diamond jewelry. Lightbox's $800-per-carat jewelry is set to be soldin select Bloomingdale's stores, including in New York City and San Francisco, thecompany said last week. It will also be distributed through 30 stores belongingto independent retailer Reeds Jewelers, which are primaril...Read More
RAPAPORT... Six synthetic-diamond companies have signed up for apilot program aimed at creating a sustainability standard for the sector. SCS Global Services, a third-party auditing specialist,will analyze companies' environmental, social and governance records, with thegoal of devising an independent sustainability certification for lab-growndiamonds. Crystal brand Swarovski and jeweler Helzberg...Read More
RAPAPORT... Jean-Marc Lieberherr has resigned as CEO of the DiamondProducers Association (DPA), an organization he has led since its formation in2015. Lieberherr became the DPA's first chairman in December 2015,before taking on the role of CEO in February 2016. He will be succeeded by David Kellie, amarketing executive who has worked for Watches of Switzerland and Ralph Lauren. "We are very p...Read More
RAPAPORT... Having a workforce that is more diverse not only makes goodbusiness sense, it makes good economic sense. Companies with a more inclusiveemployee base - i.e., a greater proportion of women and ethnically/culturallydiverse individuals - are more competitive in the global market, according toresearch by management consulting firm McKinsey & Company. More diversecompanies not only...Read More
Mining company Firestone Diamonds has placed an order to hire diesel generator units to run the processing plant at its Liqhobong mine, in Lesotho, as the operation continues to struggle without sufficient power from the grid.The units are scheduled to arrive on site by the end of the month and to be fully operational in early November, Firestone said on Tuesday.AdvertisementThe generators would b...Read More
LSE-listed Petra Diamonds’ total payments to governments for the financial year ended June 30, amounted to $23.1-million.This is lower than the $25.6-million paid to governments in the 2018 financial year.AdvertisementPetra paid the South African government about $15.41-million in taxes and royalties for the year under review.The company owns and operates the Cullinan, Finsch and Koffiefonte...Read More
De Beers Group Auctions, a subsidiary of diamond miner De Beers, on Tuesday launched its new digital auction portal, which is aimed at enhancing customers' bidding experience.“At De Beers Group Auctions, our raison d’etre is to provide our customers a smart and seamless way to source natural diamonds. We plan to do that through continuous improvement of our industry-leading auction...Read More
LIMA, Peru (miningweekly.com) – The planned introduction of an autonomous fleet at the Quellaveco copper mine in Peru will not impact jobs, Anglo American Peru CEO Tom McCulley told a visiting international media contingent on Monday.Quellevaco has a north and south pit and the automation will begin with seven trucks at the south pit and in the over two years to October 2022 include the nort...Read More
HARARE – Zimbabwe is targeting a fourfold increase in revenue from minerals by 2023 but an ambitious plan unveiled by Mines Minister Winston Chitando on Monday gave little detail on how the government would achieve this.The policy document, known as the Strategic Road to the Achievement of $12-billion By 2023, sees gold exports at $4-billion and platinum at $3-billion as the government focus...Read More
RUSTENBURG – The nationalisation of mines will lead to industrialisation, growth of the economy and jobs, Forum 4 Service Delivery Youth said on Monday."The industrial strategy adopted by government will never succeed unless we have State control and ownership of the natural resources," said Kgothatso Ramautswa, president of the youth wing.Advertisement"It is important to high...Read More
HARARE – Zimbabwe expects to increase diamond production to 11-million carats by 2023 from 3.2-million carats last year, the Mines Minister said on Monday, part of an ambitious plan to raise mining output and earn the country $12-billion a year.The mineral-rich southern African nation sees the mining sector as the main driver for reviving an economy crippled by triple-digit inflation and hig...Read More