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Diamonds – Mining, Lab-Grown and Conflict/Blood

Indigenous development corps. will be hit hard by N.W.T. diamond mine closures, report says – by Nadeer Hashmi (CBC News North – May 21, 2025)

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/

Analysis finds diamond industry generated $104M for 3 Indigenous development corporations in 2023

With the N.W.T.’s diamond mines facing an uncertain future, some Indigenous businesses are warning of the impact the mines’ closures could have on local communities.

Diamond mining brought in over $104 million in revenue to three N.W.T. Indigenous development corporations and created 355 jobs for local Indigenous people in 2023, according to a new report analyzing the impact of the diamond mines.

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Kimberley Process Makes Headway in Expanding ‘Conflict Diamond’ Definition – by Leah Meirovich (Rapaport Magazine – May 18, 2025)

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After years of fighting for a broader definition of the term “conflict diamond,” the World Diamond Council (WDC) says it finally has new wording it believes will attract a consensus. The current definition refers only to diamonds used to fund rebel groups, which critics have argued doesn’t reflect the present situation.

Over the years, Kimberley Process (KP) member countries have suggested new descriptions that would also include references to “systemic and widespread violence,” “forced labor,” “child labor” and “human rights abuses.”

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Burgundy Goes All In on Downstream Deals, Closes Manufacturing Business – by Leah Meirovich (Rapaport Magazine – May 14, 2025)

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Burgundy Diamond Mines will work directly with manufacturers, traders, jewelers and luxury brands to make direct deals for the sale of rough diamonds from its Ekati mine in Canada.

The collaborations are a way for the miner to maximize the value of its diamonds, it said Tuesday. It will also allow the company and its partners to have full traceability on its goods from mine to market, it explained.

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State of Diamonds: What’s Next for Lab-Grown Diamonds? – by Avi Krawitz (National Jeweler – May 14, 2025)

https://nationaljeweler.com/

While the product has entrenched itself in the market, retailers and consultants are assessing the next phase of the category’s development.

Being late to the party can be an advantage, says Constance Polamalu while relating her journey on the road to selling lab-grown diamonds. As chief operating officer of Zachary’s Jewelers in Annapolis, Maryland, Polamalu took time during the pandemic to assess opportunities in the lab-grown market.

“Our area tends to be a bit delayed in following trends and there wasn’t a big advocate for lab grown here at the time, but it was looming,” she recalls.

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‘Diamonds are forever,’ but not necessarily so for northern mining industry – by Aya Dufour (CBC News Sudbury – May 13, 2025)

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/sudbury/

DeBeers renews focus on natural diamonds after closing lab-grown business

DeBeers recently renewed its focus on natural diamonds after experimenting with lab-grown ones. But that probably won’t be enough to revive diamond mining in northern Ontario, according to some working in the sector.

In a news release last week, the mining giant pointed to a sharp decline in prices for lab-grown diamonds and said that trend underpinned the company’s “core belief in rare, high value and natural diamond jewelry.” DeBeers started its lab-grown diamond business around the same time it closed its only diamond project in Ontario — the Victor Mine near Attawapiskat First Nation in the province’s far north.

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WDC Appeals to US Govt to Exempt Diamonds from Tariffs – by Leah Meirovich (Rapaport Maagazine – May 5, 2025)

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The World Diamond Council (WDC) is calling on the US government to provide a dispensation for the diamond industry when implementing tariffs, noting the levies would put more than 200,000 jobs at risk.

While the council — which represents the international natural-diamond value chain — acknowledged the government’s stance on fair and reciprocal trade, it emphasized that diamonds are not produced in the US but are “vital to the health of the American jewelry industry,” the WDC said Monday. It also pointed out they were an essential contributor to the national economy.

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The Search for Golconda – by Stellene Volandes (Town and Country – December 12, 2012)

https://www.townandcountrymag.com/

A mysterious mine somewhere in India once produced the world’s most magnificent diamonds — the stones Napoleon, English monarchs, and Mughal emperors fought to own. Now they’re causing a new uproar — and setting record prices.

For his first day at Harry Winston, in January 2010, Frédéric de Narp, the company’s contagiously enthusiastic president and CEO, had one request: He wanted to hold the Hope diamond. The 110-carat blue stone, first sold to Louis XIV in 1668, was stolen from the French court jewels during the looting of the Treasury, in 1792.

In 1812 it mysteriously reappeared, in the hands of a London diamond merchant, and in 1946, Winston himself acquired it as part of the jewelry collection of Evalyn Walsh McLean, wife of the owner of the Washington Post. (The couple had bought it in 1911 for a reported $300,000.) Winston donated it to the Smithsonian Institution.

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N.W.T. government announces tax break, funding for ailing diamond mines (CBC News North – April 22, 2025)

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/

Measures include ramping up local diamond valuations, temporary property tax relief

The Northwest Territories government has announced several new policies aimed at propping up the territory’s diamond mines. The targeted measures are aimed to provide financial relief to diamond mines while low diamond prices, supply chain disruptions and potential U.S. tariffs wreak havoc on the industry.

Mining is the largest private-sector contributor to the N.W.T.’s economy, with the N.W.T. government saying its three operating diamond mines collectively account for about 20 per cent of the territory’s GDP. All three N.W.T. diamond mines reported losses in 2024, and mining companies called for government support earlier this month.

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Diamond industry in crisis as Trump tariffs rock market – by Leslie Hook (Financial Times/Financial Post – April 15, 2025)

https://financialpost.com/

Traders warn of ‘standstill’ as shipments through Antwerp drop 85%

Diamond traders are warning that the US$82-billion industry has “ground to a halt” because of Donald Trump‘s tariffs and the global trade war, with shipments through the gem-trading hub of Antwerp down to about one-seventh of usual levels.

Trump’s sweeping tariffs include a 10 per cent levy on diamond imports as well as proposed variable “retaliatory” duties by country of origin, even though many other minerals, such as gold and copper, are excluded from the measures.

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In Potential Russia Sanctions Removal, Diamonds Illustrate the Complexities – by Brad Brooks-Rubin (Just Security – April 10, 2025)

https://www.justsecurity.org/

Amid intense uncertainty and speculation about the future of sanctions related to Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, companies across all sectors are beginning to imagine what a future of sanctions relief may mean for them.

One of those sectors is that of mining and sales of natural diamonds, which is navigating a number of major challenges, only some of which are directly or indirectly connected to business involving Russia. In any case, what happens in the diamond industry related to Russia could be particularly instructive for other sectors because of its exposure to Western consumers, the physical capability of tracing the product along the supply chain from beginning to end, and its experience with mechanisms intended to improve and promote standards for responsible business.

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Low diamond prices raise risk of early closure of N.W.T. mines, experts say – by Luke Carroll (CBC News North – April 4, 2025)

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/

All three N.W.T. diamond mines reported millions of dollars of losses in 2024

All of the N.W.T.’s diamond mines are reporting millions of dollars in losses from last year as they deal with inflation and slumping diamond prices.

With just a short time left in the lifespan of the three mines and more potential economic turbulence ahead, experts believe there is risk the mines could close — and leave the territory with no economic replacement plan — earlier than expected.

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Diamond and Jewelry Trade Braces for Impact of US Tariffs – by Joshua Freedman (Rapaport Magazine – April 3, 2025)

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The US has placed tariffs of 10% on imports from all countries and higher duties on India, prompting concern and uncertainty in the diamond and jewelry industry. US President Donald Trump announced the move on Wednesday, saying the reciprocal tariffs would protect American workers and strengthen the nation’s economy.

The 10% levy will be the baseline for all countries and will go into effect on April 5, the White House explained in a fact sheet. There will be higher reciprocal tariffs on specific countries with which the US has the largest trade deficits, the document continued. These will take effect on April 9.

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Sierra Leone’s Kono District: You can’t sit by the river and wash your hands with spittle – Op ed – by Abdul Rashid Thomas (Sierra Leone Telegraph – April 2, 2025)

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When wife of the president of Sierra Leone – Mrs Fatima Bio joined a strike action by workers from Koidu Limited Mining Company (KLMC) in protest against the company, her detractors wasted no time in condemning her action, as attention seeking or misuse of her privileged position as the First Lady.

Irrespective of her position as First lady, those who know Fatima Bio believe that she did so as a citizen and daughter of the soil. As for those who don’t know, Fatima grew up on the foothills of the very hills that are being blasted daily by the mining company. Fatima grew up around the Koquima and Boroma environs of Sefadu.

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A Thrilling Yellow Diamond Discovery at Rio Tinto’s Diavik Mine – by Jane Asher (Natural Diamonds – April 1, 2025)

https://www.naturaldiamonds.com/

This exciting new discovery is sure to make natural diamond history.

A new diamond discovery from Rio Tinto’s Diavik mine in Canada’s Northwest Territories has been unearthed, a thrilling discovery for the natural diamond industry. The 158.20-carat rough diamond is one of the largest gem-quality yellow diamond ever discovered in Canada, the third-largest natural diamond producer in the world. Rio Tinto’s yellow diamond discovery is sure to make history.

The rough diamond is only one of five yellow diamonds weighing over 100 carats ever discovered at Diavik in its 22-year history. The mine, located just 200 kilometers south of the Arctic Circle, primarily produces white gem-quality diamonds. This yellow diamond discovery falls into the less than 1% category of yellow diamond production from Diavik, making it an ultra-rare gemstone.

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Surat diamond workers threaten to go on strike from March 30 (Hindustan Times/MSN.com – March 29, 2025)

https://www.msn.com/en-in/

Ahmedabad: The diamond workers of Surat have threatened to go on an indefinite strike from March 30 if their demands are not met, including wage hike and higher price. The looming strike marks the peak of months of rising tensions in an industry that polishes 80% of the world’s diamonds but is now grappling with its worst crisis since 2008.

“We will take out a rally in Katargam area of Surat on Sunday before going on an indefinite strike if the government does not meet our demands by then. We expect at least 1.5 to 2 lakh workers to join us in the strike,” said Bhavesh Tank, vice-president of Diamond Workers Union Gujarat (DWUG) which has given the strike call.

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