RAPAPORT... Alrosa has unearthed a 98.8-carat, gem-quality diamondfrom its new Verkhne-Munskoye mine in Yakutia, it said Wednesday. The stone was retrieved from the Zapolyarnaya pipe, one offour kimberlites that are located at the site. It has a visible yellow shade, Alrosa noted. "This is the second major find since the launch of thedeposit last October," said Evgeny Agureev, director of the...Read More
World Diamond Council President Stephane Fischler addressed a special meeting of the United Nations' General Assembly's 73rd Session in New York regarding the role of diamonds in fueling conflict. Mr. Fischler spoke on behalf of the diamond and jewelry industries in the session entitled "From blood diamonds to peace diamonds: conflict prevention through the Kimberley Process," and specificall...Read More
Aim- and Botswana Stock Exchange-listed Botswana Diamonds on Thursday announced that the first phase of the intensification drilling programme at its Thorny River prospect, in South Africa, has been concluded. Eighteen holes have been drilled with 12 intersecting kimberlite, the company stated in a release, adding that a bulk sampling target of 1.5 km of kimberlite fissure intersection had be...Read More
RAPAPORT... The Rapaport Group has published a special report delvinginto the key issues around lab-grown diamonds.The supplement, "The Fight's Getting Real," contains highlights from the February 2019 issue of Rapaport Magazine, featuring an analysis of DeBeers' entry into the synthetics market, and a deep look at questions of pricingand marketing terminology.It also details how companies ar...Read More
RAPAPORT... Lucapa Diamond Company garnered $3.8 million from the saleof rough stones from its Mothae mine in Lesotho, with one stone going for $36,664 per carat. The miner sold 5,411 carats at tender in Antwerp, its first commercialsale of diamonds from the deposit. It recovered the stones in the fourthquarter of 2018, during the plant's ramp-up phase and in the first month ofcommercial mini...Read More
As this is the final year of the Kimberley Process’ (KP’s) three-year review, the organisation must grasp the opportunity to correct failings in the system designed to prevent conflict diamonds from entering the distribution chain, World Diamond Council (WDC) president Stephane Fischler told a special meeting conducted on Thursday as part of the United Nations General Assembly's se...Read More
RAPAPORT... Macy's and J.C. Penney noted strong sales in their jewelry divisions in the fourth fiscal quarter, even as overall results disappointed.Macy's also said it would implement a new strategy to focus on the category, as well as other products that mattered most to its customers. "[We plan to] invest in areas where the company already has strong market share to drive disproportionate g...Read More
QMC Quantum Minerals (TSXV: QMC; US-OTC: QMCQF) has visually identified spodumene in the first diamond holes it has drilled into its Irgon lithium project in the Cat Lake-Winnipeg River rare-element pegmatite field in southeast Manitoba.The company is currently amid phase one of a two phase drill program at Irgon, designed to confirm and expand the project's historical resource that Lithium Corpor...Read More
Toronto-based Mountain Province Diamonds has begun the winter exploration program at its 100% owned Kennady North project. The property is adjacent to the Gahcho Kue diamond mine, a joint venture of De Beers Canada (51%) and Mountain Province (49%).The winter program at Kennady North will focus on drilling several combined indicator and geophysical targets located west and southwest of the Hearne...Read More
Rio Tinto's (ASX, LON:RIO) investors will be celebrating Christmas in February, as the miner is giving them a $4 billion special dividend, or $2.43 cent a share, after posting its highest annual underlying earnings since 2014.The world's second largest miner reported Wednesday a 2% increase in underlying profit, up to $8.8 billion, beating market forecasts of $8.5 billion on the back of rising rev...Read More
The world's top diamond producer by output, Alrosa, (MCX:ALRS) has unearthed a rough diamond weighing 98.8 carats at Zapolyarnaya kimberlite pipe, which is the part of Russia's Verkhne-Munskoye diamond deposit.The rock, a unique transparent one with a visible yellow shade and of gem-quality, is the second major find since the launch of the deposit last October, Alrosa said."[The find] speaks ab...Read More
RAPAPORT... Sterling Jewelers has reached a mutually agreeable settlementwith Alex and Ani after a yearlong dispute over a supply deal. Judge Sara Lioi dismissed the case without prejudice,according to a February 14 motion Sterling, a division of Signet Jewelers, filedin an Ohio court. The companies will beartheir own legal costs. "The matter was resolved and settled to the parties' mutualsa...Read More
RAPAPORT... Michael Hill's sales fell 2.7% in the first half of its fiscal year due to the lingering impact of a discounting policy that it has been working to abolish, the company said. Group revenue dropped to AUD 315.4 million ($226 million), thejeweler reported Wednesday. During the first four months of the period endingDecember 31, the jeweler suffered from a marketing strategy featuring...Read More
RAPAPORT... Revenue from Rio Tinto's diamond division slid 1.6% to $695million in 2018, the miner reported Wednesday. The diamond unit's profit rose 28% to $118 million, whileearnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) increased4.9% to $301 million. Diamond production fell 15% to 18.4 millioncarats for the year, with output slipping at both its mines. Carat recovery...Read More
Finestar, an Indian diamond manufacturer and trader that recently acquired De Beers Sightholder status, has launched its proprietary Finestar X-ray diamond imaging software. Finestar's X-ray imaging program shows the internal framework of the given diamond. Technically speaking, it is the digital image overlapping the plotting image of a diamond grading report that shows the exact position of the...Read More
BeckyStone,Diamonds in the Library founder and CEO:Modern jewelry loverswant to put their money toward pieces they can connect with, that make astatement about who they truly are. Charms offer that personal connection likenothing else, and that's why charms - from medallions and monograms to vintageand newly minted figurals - will reign supreme in 2019. In the past few years,designers have realize...Read More
De Beers has appointed Nompumelelo (Mpumi) Zikalala as Managing Director of De Beers Group Managed Operations, the company that comes instead of De Beer Consolidated Mines (DBCM). Mpumi, currently Deputy Chief Executive Officer at DBCM will take responsibility for the restructured entity that includes the Venetia Mine (South Africa), the Gahcho Ku?(C) Mine (Canada) and De Beers Marine. She is to s...Read More
RAPAPORT... Trans Atlantic Gem Sales (TAGS) sold a record $50.1 millionworth of rough diamonds at a tender in Dubai earlier this month, it saidMonday. A total of 79,213 carats of high-quality stones from minesin South Africa, Angola and Namibia yielded an average price of $633 per carat.The sale included a number of large, single stones and exceptional specials,the company said. "TAGS has se...Read More
The Verkhne-Munskoye, one of the largest diamond mines in the world, produced a unique gem-quality rough diamond weighing 98.8 carats. The stone was found in the Zapolyarnaya kimberlite pipe. The mine Verkhne-Munskoye, which is operated by ALROSA, is located in the Sakha Republic, also known as Yakutia. Reportedly, the mine has estimated reserves of 40 million and is projected to produce 1.8 mill...Read More
RAPAPORT... The first China-Israel Diamond Week will take place in Shenzhenin April. The event - organized by the Israel Diamond Exchange(IDE), the Shanghai Diamond Exchange (SDE) and Guangdong Land Holding - willinclude a seminar, the signing of a memorandum of cooperation, visits todiamond-jewelry manufacturing facilities, and networking events. The show will also feature a sales meet, whe...Read More