Russia’s Alrosa (MCX:ALRS), the world’s top diamond producer by output in carats, plans to resume operations at its Mir mine, which has been shuttered since 2017, with work on the project set to start in 2024, local authorities have said. The underground diamond mine, which accounted for about 9% of Alrosa’s output before operations were suspended, flooded when water poured into a shaft from an open-pit mine above it, killing eight people. Its former manager, Alexey Burkser, was found dead in a pre-trial detention centre in October, a day after he
De Beers sold the most diamonds since April in a sign the industry is starting to recover from a slump in demand last year, though the market will require more evidence of a sustained rebound. The Anglo American Plc unit sold $545 million of diamonds in its first sale of the year, traditionally one of the strongest buying periods as the industry restocks after the crucial holiday selling period. There was little good news for the diamond industry last year. An oversupply of rough stones, a surfeit of polished gems and falling prices piled pressure on the compa
Petra Diamonds’ first-half revenue fell 6%, dented by lower prices as the diamond industry grappled with soft demand from China and Hong Kong, but the African miner said it would meet or exceed its annual production target. The industry has been facing slowing demand due to anti-government protests in Hong Kong and the bruising trade dispute between China and the United States, while some analysts blame it on laboratory-grown diamonds. There has, however, been an improvement in demand in the second quarter, with rough diamond pricing seeing a modest rise, the
The 17.44-carat diamond found at the Verkhne-Munskoye deposit. (Image courtesy of Alrosa.) Russia’s Alrosa (MCX:ALRS), the world’s top diamond miner by output, has found a 17.4-carat bright yellow gem-quality precious rock at its new Verkhne-Munskoye deposit in Yakutia, which started operations in 2018. The diamond, recovered in mid-February from the Zapolyarnaya kimberlite pipe, is the first large coloured stone found at the site, the company said. Alrosa, which did not disclose the estimated value of the diamond, said it would be assessed and evaluated by
Africa-focused Firestone Diamonds (LON:FDI) has decided to leave the London Stock Exchange and reduce the size of its board in an attempt to reduce costs and ride out a lingering weakness in the global diamond market. Shares in the company, currently traded on the AIM exchange — the LME’s submarket for juniors — have collapsed in recent years. From 56.8p a piece in October 2016, the stock has fallen to just 0.30p as of Tuesday at 12:15 pm local time, leaving it with a market cap of £2.7 million ($4.7 million). Firestone’s investors are expecte
The 172.6-carat D-colour, Type IIa diamond discovered at Lucapa Diamond’s Lulo mine in 2016. Image courtesy of Lucapa Diamond Company. Lucapa Diamond (ASX:LOM) and its partners Endiama and Rosas & Petalas reported on Wednesday positive results from the search for the hard-rock kimberlite source of the alluvial diamonds at the Lulo diamond field in Angola. According to the company, the first stream bulk samples excavated from the Canguige tributary had resulted in the recovery of 45 diamonds weighing 30.3 ct. “We are excited about the diamond recoveries from the
Artisanal mining accounts for only 20% of global diamond production, but carries a tainted reputation that’s damaged consumer confidence for almost 20 years. (Miners in Kono District, Sierra Leone, panning for diamonds. Courtesy of USAID Guinea via Wikimedia Commons.) Russia, this year’s chair country of the Kimberley Process, a certification scheme established to prevent the trade of conflict diamonds, has vowed to work on lifting all remaining sanctions to exports of precious stones from Central African Republic (CAR). The country partially resumed diamond shi
Angola’s new diamond trading policy generated an average annual growth of gross revenue of about 8.5% in the past two years. According to a media statement issued by Sodiam – the National Diamond Trading Company of Angola-, while in the 2016-2017 period gross revenue grew by 2.3%, in 2017-2018 it grew 10.8%, totalling $1.22 billion, and in 2018-2019 it grew by 6.2%, totalling $1.29 billion. The positive results follow a 2018 decree that eliminated the figure of ‘preferred customer’ and implemented new ways of selling diamonds. Before, preferenti
A sparsely populated shopping mall in New Jersey, second week of Marc. In mid-January the diamond industry was first directly impacted by the coronavirus labeled COVID-19 when quarantine measures were taken in China to control the viral outbreak including the temporary closure of shopping centers. An estimated 75% of jewelry stores in Mainland China, and the surrounding regions encompassing Greater China, were shut for an estimated 40-50 days through the first week of March. In addition, the measures taken in China halted diamond trade and other industry-related B2B (bu
De Beers sells its gems through 10 sales each year in Botswana’s capital, Gaborone, and the buyers — known as sightholders — generally have to accept the price and the quantities offered. (Image courtesy of De Beers) De Beers, already grappling with a prolonged industry crisis exacerbated by the coronavirus outbreak, now has another headache to contend with: how to conduct diamond sales when key customers are blocked from traveling? Botswana, where De Beers conducts its 10 sales each year, on Monday announced a travel ban on 18 high-risk countries as part o