Bloomberg reports that Beny Steinmetz has ended a seven-year-old dispute with Guinea, a mineral rich country in West Africa. Reportedly, the settlement was brokered by former French President Nicolas Sarkozy. As a result of the agreement, Steinmetz-controlled BSG Resources Ltd. and Guinean President Alpha Conde have both withdrawn allegations of corruption and agreed to drop a two-year-old arbitra...Read More
The Shanghai Diamond Exchange (SDE), Guangdong Land Holding Ltd (GDLand) and Israel Diamond Exchange (IDE) are to hold a first China-Israel Diamond Week in Shenzhen, April 2 - 4, 2019. The highlight of the event will be a China-Israel Diamond Sales Meet, where Israeli exhibitors will present their goods to Chinese diamond buyers. A large number of Chinese buyers is expected at the event. The even...Read More
In an interview, Bruce Cleaver, CEO of De Beers, contended that the prices of lab-grown diamonds (LGDs) have dropped as much as 60 percent since De Beers stared marketing its Lightbox LGD-set jewelry line in the last quarter of 2018. The De Beers CEO said that wholesale prices of LGDs would continue to fall due to technological developments and advancements will continue to lower the cost o...Read More
GSI (Gemological Science International) will provide diamond testing and screening for jewelry manufacturers and retailers at its booth during the Hong Kong International Jewellery Show. The booth's mini-lab will showcase GSI's testing and screening capabilities now available at its new Hong Kong facility, which utilizes the latest equipment for testing and screening undisclosed lab grown diamond...Read More
RAPAPORT... Profit at Sarine Technologies plunged in the fourthquarter, as sentiment in the diamond industry softened amid weaker consumer spending. The diamond technology company reported net profit fell 85% year on year to $93,000 for the threemonths that ended December 31. Uncertainties in China and tighter bank creditto India's manufacturing sector resulted in lower capital-equipment sale...Read More
RAPAPORT... Actress and singer Lady Gaga sported a 128.54-carat yellowdiamond and platinum Tiffany necklace at the 91st Academy Awardsshow Sunday night. The Oscar winner wore the 141-year-old cushion-cut TiffanyDiamond - which originated in the Kimberley mines in South Africa - was last seen on Audrey Hepburn at the publicity shoot for the 1961 movie Breakfast at Tiffany's. It's th...Read More
JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – De Beers Group has announced an initiative to consolidate its mining assets in South Africa and Canada into one business called De Beers Group Managed Operations.The new business will streamline operational management and identify synergies to create a more sustainable business in the two countries.AdvertisementDe Beers Group Managed Operations will focus o...Read More
RAPAPORT... Actress and singer Lady Gaga sported a 128.54-carat yellowdiamond and platinum Tiffany necklace at the 91st Academy Awardsshow Sunday night. The Oscar winner wore the 141-year-old cushion-cut TiffanyDiamond - which originated in the Kimberley mines in South Africa - was last seen on Audrey Hepburn at the publicity shoot for the 1961 movie Breakfast at Tiffany's. It's th...Read More
RAPAPORT... Lucapa Diamond Company plans to cut and polish select stonesin-house in an effort to maximize value for its shareholders. Third-party manufacturers charge high fees without adding significant value, explained CEO Stephen Wetherall in a recent interview. Bypassing them - either by partnering with a manufacturer of the company's choice, or by cutting and polishing its own diamonds -...Read More
RAPAPORT... Lucara Diamond Corp.'s sales slumped in 2018, as results for the previous year included the sale of a 1,109-carat rough diamond. Proceeds fell 20% to $176.2 million, the company saidThursday. While sales volume rose 35% to 350,798 carats, the average price dropped41% to $502 per carat. Lucara produced a record number of stones over 10.8carats from its Karowe mine in Botswana, incl...Read More
RAPAPORT... The Diamond Producers Association (DPA) will debut a newcampaign geared toward female self-purchasers during television coverage of the Oscarawards. The initial promotion of "For Me, From Me" will feature aseries of videos set to air on broadcast network E! Entertainment, followed by photo galleries onInstagram and the E! website. "Our latest campaign celebrates the distinct prid...Read More
Bundesverein Schmuck und Uhren (BVSU), Germany's Federal Association for Jewelry and Watches has joined the Responsible Jewellery Council (RJC). The association is the first German jewelry trade association to become an RJC member. Guido Grohmann, BVSH Managing Director, said "We are delighted to become a member of the RJC. Many organizations we work with have already been certified and our goal f...Read More
Angola's National Security Council (NSC) released a statement mid-February, reporting that from September 2018 to date some 450,000 illegal foreign citizens had been forced to leave the country. The report said that that some 350 rough diamond businesses involved in the illicit purchase of diamonds had been dismantled. In addition to large sums of money, the reported said that 34,480 carats of di...Read More
Signet Jewelers, the parent company of jewelry chain stores Kay, Jared and Zales is expected to let more than 3,000 employees go from its corporate operations in Akron, Ohio, and Dallas, Texas. Reportedly, Signet is offering voluntary buyouts to 2,600 employees in Akron and 890 employees in Dallas. The company expects that the employees' voluntary departures will be enough"to fund critical investm...Read More
Anglo-American, the parent company of De Beers, published its annual report for 2018.The report stated that generally mining "is getting harder." The production grades are declining, societal expectations are increasing and the increasing of the mining scale is not a sustainable solution. "A focus on greater precision and efficiency is needed," the report said. Anglo-American's production forecas...Read More
RAPAPORT... The Diamond Producers Association (DPA) will debut a newcampaign geared toward female self-purchasers during television coverage of the Oscarawards. The initial promotion of "For Me, From Me" will feature aseries of videos set to air on broadcast network E! Entertainment, followed by photo galleries onInstagram and the E! website. "Our latest campaign celebrates the distinct prid...Read More
The Gahcho Ku?(C) diamond mine, a joint venture between De Beers Canada and Mountain Province Diamonds is selling an exceptional, 60-carat yellow rough diamond in a sealed bid tender. Reid Mackie, adviser on behalf of Mountain Province, said that this is one of the most exciting stones to have been extracted from the mine since operations commenced at Gahcho Ku?(C). "The stone stuck out like a tr...Read More
Lucara Diamonds’ Karowe mine, in Botswana, achieved a strong operational performance in 2018, meeting or exceeding guidance in all areas, the company said on Thursday.Tonnes mined for the year ended December 31, 2018, reached 18.1-million, in line with guidance of 15.5-million to 18.7-million tonnes.AdvertisementOre and waste mined were 3.1-million tonnes and 15-million tonnes, respectively....Read More
LONDON – Wholesale prices for laboratory-grown diamonds have fallen by up to 60% since De Beers began selling synthetic stones for jewellery in September, CEO Bruce Cleaver said on Thursday, adding margins for the sector would continue to fall.De Beers, part of mining group Anglo American, shocked the diamond industry last year when it announced it was reversing a decades-old policy of selli...Read More
Aim-listed BlueRock Diamonds has sold the 8.97 ct diamond and the 16.28 ct diamond, that it recovered earlier this month at its Kareevlei diamond mine, in the Kimberley region of South Africa.The 8.97 ct diamond achieved a price of $8 306/ct, valuing it at $74 513, while the 16.28 ct diamond sold for $4 849/ct, valuing it at $78 947.Advertisement“We have sold two high-quality . . . D-colour...Read More