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Diamonds – Mining, Lab-Grown and Conflict/Blood

Supercomputers Reveal Earth’s Incredible Secret Diamond Engine – by Darren Orf (Popular Mechanics – June 1, 2023)

https://www.popularmechanics.com/

The discovery has massive repercussions for humanity as we know it.

Diamonds primarily need three things to form: pressure, heat, and lots of time. Those three ingredients can be easily found in the Earth’s mantle—the goopy, extra hot geologic soup that separates the planet’s core from its crust. But if these precious stones form some 100 miles below the surface, how exactly do they show up in mines and jewelry stores across the globe?

For decades, scientists have known that volcanic eruptions of an igneous rock known as kimberlite can contain diamonds in their rock matrix, and such kimberlite hot spots can be found in South Africa, the northeastern U.S., and Siberia, among other places. So while this volcanic phenomena essentially burps up diamonds, what is the geologic engine behind those eruptions?

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Surat Diamond Dealers Exploit Loopholes In Sierra Leone’s Diamond Trade (The Blunt Times – June 16, 2023)

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Many other dealers from Surat, travels to Sierra Leone multiple times a year, purchasing high-value rough diamonds from artisanal workers employed in the local diamond mines

Surat : Samrat Patel (name changed), a diamond dealer from Surat, has become a frequent visitor to Sierra Leone, a diamond mining country in West Africa. Patel, like many other dealers from Surat, travels to Sierra Leone multiple times a year, purchasing high-value rough diamonds from artisanal workers employed in the local diamond mines. However, these diamonds are often stolen from the mines by the workers and sold to dealers like Patel at throwaway prices, allowing them to earn significant profits back in Surat.

Sierra Leone, known for its diamond reserves, has attracted the attention of Surat’s diamond industry, primarily centered in the world’s largest diamond cutting and polishing center. Patel’s visits to Sierra Leone have resulted in a lucrative bounty of rough diamonds that he brings back with him. The diamonds are concealed in bags to evade the scrutiny of customs officials at the airport, as carbon-based diamonds are not easily detectable by sophisticated scanning machines.

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Blood Diamonds: The Grim Fate of Miners in Panna’s Diamond Industry – by Akansha Deshmukh (Qrius.com – April 23, 2023)

https://qrius.com/

Panna district, renowned for its diamond mines and dubbed ‘Heera Nagri’ (city of diamonds) by many, belies its affluent reputation upon closer inspection.

Despite its population of over a million individuals spanning 9 tehsils and 1033 villages according to the 2011 census, the Ministry of Panchayati Raj listed Panna among the 250 most underdeveloped districts in India.

Panna ranks a dismal 41st out of 45 districts in Madhya Pradesh’s human development index (HDI). It is also among its five poorest districts, receiving funding from the Backward Regions Grant Fund Programme (BRGF), which allocates funds to districts facing significant obstacles to progress.

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Ekati sale expected to go through at end of June – by Ollie Williams (Cabin Radio – June 11, 2023)

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The latest sale of the Northwest Territories’ Ekati diamond mine is expected to be finalized before the end of the month, the current owners say. In a presentation posted to a public registry, Arctic Canadian says the “expected transition close-out” of Ekati’s sale to Burgundy Diamond Mines, an Australian company, is anticipated on June 30.

The deal is valued at almost $200 million. Ekati was last sold in February 2021, when financially troubled Dominion Diamond Mines offloaded the mine to Arctic Canadian, a company formed by some of Dominion’s creditors.

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Natural vs. lab-grown diamonds: Why the world’s most popular stone is becoming increasingly affordable – by Erica Alini (Globe and Mail – June 9, 2023)

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

Among rising prices for just about everything, the world’s hardest stone is bucking the trend. If you’re shopping for an engagement ring or other gem-adorned jewellery, you’ll find diamonds are delivering increasingly more bling for your buck.

That’s thanks to falling prices for lab-grown diamonds, which are baked in high-pressure or vacuum chambers rather than mined from deep inside the earth. Better technology and a growing supply mean synthetic diamonds are now selling for between 75 per cent and 90 per cent less than their natural equivalents, according to New York-based diamond industry analyst Paul Ziminsky. The discount was only around 10 per cent in 2016, he said.

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Harry Oppenheimer biography shows the South African mining magnate’s hand in economic policies – by Roger Southall (The Conversation – June 1, 2023)

https://theconversation.com/

In Harry Oppenheimer: Diamonds, Gold and Dynasty, his outstanding biography of the South African mining magnate who died in 2000, Michael Cardo shows that there is still mileage to be made in the study of dead white males who played a role in the making of South Africa. Based on a remarkable depth of research, it is written in an elegant style which makes for a delightfully easy read.

It is rendered the more impressive by the author’s deep conversance with the debates over the relationships between mining capital, Afrikaner nationalism and apartheid. Cardo is an opposition MP.

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Botswana president insists on bigger share of diamonds from De Beers venture (Reuters – May 25, 2023)

https://www.reuters.com/

GABORONE, May 25 (Reuters) – Botswana will not back down on demands for a bigger share of rough diamonds from its joint venture with De Beers, President Mokgweetsi Masisi said on Thursday, upping the stakes as talks for a new sales deal appear to be stalling.

Botswana and De Beers mine the precious stones through their equally owned, 54-year-old mining venture, Debswana Diamond Co. The current diamond sales deal, in place since 2011, has been extended three times since 2020 but is set to expire next month.

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Ontario’s first diamond mine in the final stages of closing up – by Maija Hoggett (Timmins Today – May 24, 2023)

https://www.timminstoday.com/

Active closure is expected to be done this summer, though the site will be monitored until at least 2039

Before the Victor Mine even had permits to operate, De Beers was working on its closure plan. Today, Ontario’s first diamond mine — located in a remote area of the James Bay lowlands west of Attawapiskat First Nation — fewer than 100 people remain on-site.

That’s far less than the 500 employees and contractors who were there during the height of the mine’s operations, said De Beers head of corporate affairs Erik Madsen. Madsen was the guest speaker at the Timmins Chamber of Commerce’s State of Mining event today (May 24). He talked about the mine’s operations, the work left to be done on-site and the future of De Beers in the James Bay area.

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Will a Russian diamond ban be effective? – by Tom Espiner (BBC.com – May 19, 2023)

https://www.bbc.com/

The UK has announced a ban on Russian diamonds as it tightens sanctions over Russia’s war in Ukraine. Countries in the G7 bloc also want to be able to trace the gemstones to block Russian exports as they try to limit cash flowing into Russia’s war chest. But how effective will these schemes be, and could there be unintended consequences?

How important are Russian diamond exports?

Russia’s diamond trade, worth about $4bn (£3.2bn) per year, makes up a small proportion of its overall exports. Before the invasion of Ukraine, Russia’s total exports reached $489.8bn in 2021, according to the central bank, with oil and gas making up $240.7bn of that.

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G-7 to Chase Russia’s Diamonds While Stopping Short of Total Ban – by Alex Wickham and Alberto Nardelli (Bloomberg News – May 18, 2023)

https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/

(Bloomberg) — Group of Seven countries agreed to work together to track Russian diamonds, but stopped short of slapping Moscow with an outright ban on the lucrative gem trade.

Leaders in a statement released Friday at their summit in Hiroshima, Japan, pledged to work together to “restrict trade in and use of diamonds mined, processed or produced in Russia” and coordinate future “restrictive measures, including through tracing technologies.”

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Celebrating 20 years of Diavik diamonds – by Shane Lasley (North of 60 Mining News – May 12, 2023)

https://www.miningnewsnorth.com/

Rio Tinto reflects on extraordinary people, spirit and innovation behind Far North Canada diamond mine.

Rio Tinto celebrates the extraordinary people, award-winning innovation, and pioneering spirit behind the 20 years of producing brilliant diamonds at the Diavik Mine in Canada’s Northwest Territories.

Discovered during the great Canadian diamond rush in the 1990s, Diavik began commercially producing diamonds in 2003. Over the ensuing two decades, Diavik has produced over 140 million carats of rough diamonds through a combination of surface and underground mining. Most of the diamonds recovered at Diavik are white gem quality stones, with a small quantity of yellow diamonds in the mix.

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What jewels will King Charles III use in his coronation? – by Kenichi Serino (PBS News Hour – May 5, 2023)

https://www.pbs.org/

The world will be watching as King Charles III formally ascends the British throne in a coronation ceremony Saturday, just as his own mother, Elizabeth II, did 70 years ago. From monarch to monarch now passes the crown – actually, a few of them.

The jewels that adorn that regalia, including some of the largest diamonds in the world, are seen as some of Britain’s greatest treasures and help lend powerful symbolism to this ancient ritual. But their histories tell a more complicated story – some steeped in the legacy of colonialism.

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Belgian mood turning against Russian diamonds Andrew Rettman (EU Observer – April 26, 2023)

https://euobserver.com/

Nobody in Belgium wants Russian “blood diamonds” any more, but the next round of EU sanctions still won’t ban them. “Consumers don’t want to buy diamonds with blood on them,” said Vicky Reynaert, a Belgian left-wing MP.

“Everybody knows what’s being done with the money by Alrosa [Russia’s biggest diamond firm] — it’s going directly to finance the war against Ukraine”, she said. Reynaert spoke to EUobserver after a Belgian parliament committee, on Tuesday (25 April), backed her resolution calling for the Belgian government to support an EU-wide embargo on Russian stones.

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DeBeers says there will be few signs of closed northern Ontario diamond mine by year’s end – by Erik White (CBC News Sudbury – April 24, 2023)

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

Diamond mining company recognized for reclamation work at former Victor mine near Attawapiskat

Diamond mining giant DeBeers says by the end of this year there won’t be much left at the Victor mine near Attawapiskat in Ontario’s far north. The mine closed in 2019 and the company has been busy decommissioning the site where 500 people once lived and worked.

Senior communications officer Terry Kruger says most buildings have been demolished and the open pit filled with 44 million cubic metres of water and turned into a lake.

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The View from England: Famous gems being both flaunted and hidden – by Chris Hinde (Northern Miner – April 20, 2023)

https://www.northernminer.com/

By now you should have received your invitation to the coronation of Charles III and his wife, Camilla, as king and queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms. If you are at Westminster Abbey on May 6 (or watching, having mislaid your invitation) you will see a sparkling parade, but not the Koh-i-noor diamond.

One of the world’s most famous gems, the 106 carat Koh-i-noor (Persian for ‘Mountain of Light’) will not be used by Camilla. Instead, Queen Mary’s crown will be modified using diamonds from Queen Elizabeth II’s personal collection, including three of the stones cut from the largest gem-quality diamond ever found (South Africa’s 3,106 carat Cullinan).

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