RAPAPORT... Marie-Chantal Kaninda hasstepped down as executive director of the World Diamond Council (WDC) after two and a half years in the position. "Marie-Chantal's influence on the WDC has been profound,"WDC president Stephane Fischler said Tuesday."As a citizen of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and a veteran ofthe African mining sector, she brought to the position a sensibility a...Read More
PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Diamond miner Lucapa has reported record monthly production from both the Lulo and Mothae diamond mines, in Angola and Lesotho respectively.The Lulo mine produced 3 180 ct in August, while the Mothae operation recovered a record 2 911 ct in the same year.AdvertisementLucapa on Tuesday also reported a consolidated net profit after tax of $1.1-million for the six mon...Read More
RAPAPORT... Angola is looking to expand its diamond operations, andhopes to create businesses across all points of the sector, including manufacturingand jewelry. The country recently inaugurated its third diamond-cuttingand production factory, Pedra Rubra, which will also manufacture jewelry forits five stores in Luanda. The facility, which cost $5 million to build, willprocess 5,000 carats of ro...Read More
RAPAPORT... Tiffany & Co. is growing its presence in China to capitalize on a shift in the country to local purchasing. The jeweler plans to open new stores, launch its Blue Box Cafe in the country, and introduce more fine-jewelry collections on the mainland, CEO Alessandro Bogliolo said last week in a call with analysts, transcribed by Seeking Alpha."We have made decisions [over] th...Read More
RAPAPORT... More than 160 trade groups urged US President DonaldTrump to postpone further tax increases on Chinese goods imported to the US, fearingthey would affect holiday sales. "We are writing with an urgent request that you postponeall tariff-rate increases," the Americans for Free Trade Coalition, whichrepresents members of the industry, said in a letter last week. "[They] come atthe worst p...Read More
RAPAPORT... The South African government is calling for change in thediamond industry after expressing concern about the slow pace of localbeneficiation. The Portfolio Committee on Mineral Resources and Energy hasappointed a regulator to monitor the transformation after a weeklong review andoversight of the South African Diamond and Precious Metals Regulator (SADPMR),mineral research and developme...Read More
Reports by various Hong Kong media outlets, such as the South China Morning Post (SCMP) said that this past Sunday, August 31, masked protesters had created chaos on Hong Kong's airport and damaged the railway station, causing travelers to head to the city on foot. SCMP reported that Sunday's protests had followed a night of violence after tens of thousands had joined an - illegal - mar...Read More
Nigeria's newspaper the Premium Times, published an article arguing that the country could earn well over $12 billion from gemstones annually if it would invest in gemological laboratory that would identify and grade to asses the value of the precious stones mined in the country. The paper quoted a Professor of Business Administration, Adesoji Adesugba, saying that this one of the conclusions...Read More
The Namibian news service New Era (NE) interviewed NamDeb's CEO Riaan Burger, asking how long NamDeb has before the firm's "onshore resources" run out. Burger said that the company, which has been mining diamonds since 1908, would have to close its mining operation at some point. "We have declining on-land reserves, but we also have opportunities. At the moment we can eco...Read More
The Macauhub news service reported that Angola's national diamond trading company, Sodiam had announced toward the end of August that the company had "suspended receiving proposals to buy rough diamonds because the demand is higher than the supply." Sodiam, which is a state-owned company, said it had halted the submission of bids for its rough. It stated that it had finalized purchasing agre...Read More
Aim-listed BlueRock Diamonds produced more than 50% of its overall output for the six months ended June 30 in May and June.Production for the two months reached 63 200 t.AdvertisementThe increase in production was achieved without the benefit of the planned plant improvements, the diamond miner said on Monday, adding that this was largely owing to the new management team having introduced str...Read More
RAPAPORT... More than 160 trade groups urged US President DonaldTrump to postpone further tax increases on Chinese goods imported to the US, fearingthey would affect holiday sales. "We are writing with an urgent request that you postponeall tariff-rate increases," the Americans for Free Trade Coalition, whichrepresents members of the industry, said in a letter last week. "[They] come atthe worst p...Read More
RAPAPORT... The South African government is calling for change in thediamond industry after expressing concern about the slow pace of localbeneficiation. The Portfolio Committee on Mineral Resources and Energy hasappointed a regulator to monitor the transformation after a weeklong review andoversight of the South African Diamond and Precious Metals Regulator (SADPMR),mineral research and developme...Read More
Pioneering geophysical work undertaken by Aim-listed Botswana Diamonds has identified kimberlite pipes buried at shallow depth on the company’s Thorny River prospect, in Botswana.The company says the targets identified are similar to the pipe that constituted the high-grade and famous De Beers Marsfontein mine, in so much as the pipe had little surface indication, owing to dolerite rock cove...Read More
RAPAPORT... Pandora unveiled its new branding at an event in Los Angeles last week, with the launch ranking as the largest marketing investment in thecompany's history, it noted. Approximately 400 international guests attended the Danishjeweler's VIP Streets of Love event last week, including Australian modelShanina Shaik and Italian actress and singer Elisabetta Canalis. The pink d?(C)cor atthe p...Read More
RAPAPORT... Hong Kong luxury retail sales fell sharply in July, affected by continuedprotests in the city and an escalation in the US-China trade war. Revenue from jewelry, watches, clocks and other valuablegifts dropped 24% year on year to HKD 5.49 billion ($700.4 million) during the month, themunicipality's Census and Statistics Department reported last week. Sales across all retail categor...Read More
RAPAPORT... Hong Kong luxury retail sales fell sharply in July, affected by continuedprotests in the city and an escalation in the US-China trade war. Revenue from jewelry, watches, clocks and other valuablegifts dropped 24% year on year to HKD 5.49 billion ($700.4 million) during the month, themunicipality's Census and Statistics Department reported last week. Sales across all retail categor...Read More
As usual, during the summer months in the northern hemisphere, in August, price developments in rounds were few and mixed. In the 0.30-0.39-carat category, stones in high colors and commercial clarities saw some prices drop of up to 3.5 percent, but the next two categories, up to half a carat, saw a few price rises, in the commercial color and clarity ranges. In the categories from half a carat up...Read More
The Portfolio Committee on Mineral Resources and Energy has called for the South African Diamond and Precious Metal Regulator (SADPMR) to transform the sector, as well as to capacitate its existing transformation office to ensure these sectors reflect the demographics of the country.On Thursday, the committee visited three entities of the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy – the SADP...Read More
FREETOWN – Sierra Leoneans living next to the country's largest diamond mine are taking their government to West Africa's regional court for failing to protect them from alleged environmental lapses by the company that runs it, a subsidiary of Octea Limited.The complaint, filed to the Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas) court of justice on Thursday, alleges that the go...Read More