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Diamonds – Mining, Lab-Grown and Conflict/Blood

OPINION: Sanctioning Russia’s diamond trade would be a blow to Putin’s oligarchs – by Ian Smillie (Globe and Mail – March 10, 2022)

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

Ian Smillie, a leader in the campaign to end blood diamonds, is the author of Blood on the Stone: Greed Corruption and War in the Global Diamond Trade and Diamonds.

The increasingly tough economic sanctions placed on Russia and its oligarchs are designed to send powerful messages to President Vladimir Putin about the barbaric invasion of Ukraine. But one area has so far escaped serious attention: the Russian diamond trade.

Russia is one the world’s largest producers of rough diamonds. Most are exported, earning Russia about US$3-billion every year in the foreign exchange that is becoming scarcer as sanctions start to bite.

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RIO TINTO NEWS RELEASE: First female president appointed for Diavik Diamond Mine (December 16, 2021)

YELLOWKNIFE, Canada – Rio Tinto has appointed Angela Bigg president and chief operating officer of the Diavik Diamond Mine. Angela, previously general manager, Operations at Diavik, will be the first female to lead the mine and its 1,100 employees.

Angela joined the Diavik team in November of 2017 as vice president, Finance. She began her career with Rio Tinto in 2005 and has worked in Mozambique, South Africa and Australia, where she is from. She succeeds Richard Storrie, who has decided to leave the company to pursue other opportunities.

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De Beers’ New Marketing Campaign Is Here – by Michelle Graff (National Jeweler – November 2, 2021)

 

https://www.nationaljeweler.com/

London—The new global marketing campaign De Beers Group teased in Las Vegas earlier this year is here. The campaign centers on a statement most often uttered at weddings—“I do”—but expands it to mean more: a personal pledge to achieve your own goals, to stand up for yourself, and to fight for your beliefs for the next generation.

And it encourages, of course, celebrating these achievements with a piece of diamond jewelry. “I Do” continues down the same path De Beers started on in 2017, when it launched the Forevermark “Tribute” collection and its accompanying marketing campaign, which aimed to relay the idea that diamonds could be exchanged for a wide range of life events—not just engagements or milestone anniversaries—or even purchased as a gift to oneself.

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Lucara says diamond market “healthiest” in years – by Cecilia Jamasmie (Mining.com – November 24, 2021)

https://www.mining.com/

Lucara Diamond (TSX: LUC) said on Wednesday the global market for rough stones and diamond jewellery has reached a healthy balance thanks to supply improvements and fundamentals. The Vancouver-based miner said it expected the positive trend to continue in years to come and set its 2022 targets accordingly.

Next year, which marks its Karowe mine’s tenth year of operations, Lucara anticipates producing up to 340,000 carats, to be sold through its multi-sales channel approach, which should generate revenues of between $185 million and $215 million.

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Six Canadian-listed diamond companies poised to prosper as market recovers – by Alisha Hiyate (Northern Miner – November 24, 2021)

https://www.northernminer.com/

Whether they’re producers, developers or explorers, Canadian-listed diamond companies are a tough lot. Those that have survived the disruptions of the pandemic — and the soft diamond market that preceded it — may be in an excellent position to capitalize on the diamond recovery and lower supply and recent closure of Rio Tinto’s Argyle mine in Australia. Here are six companies that are actively exploring or mining diamonds – at home and elsewhere.

Arctic Star Exploration (TSXV: ADD) has enjoyed exploration success in the Northwest Territories’ prolific Lac de Gras kimberlite field this year, discovering five kimberlites at the Diagras project. The project also hosts 23 kimberlites discovered by De Beers in the 1990s.

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Rio Tinto now sole owner of Diavik Mine – by Shane Lasley (North of 60 Mining News – November 19, 2021)

https://www.miningnewsnorth.com/

In a deal that bolsters certainty for the future of the Diavik Mine and Northwest Territories’ economy, Rio Tinto has acquired full ownership of this iconic diamond operation in Canada’s Arctic.

Rio Tinto’s 40% partner in Diavik, Dominion Diamond Mines, filed for insolvency protection under the Canadian Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act at the height of the COVID pandemic in 2020.

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GUEST COLUMN: Country with ‘widespread human rights abuses’ to become vice-chair of Kimberley Process – by Sam Lewis (Professional Jeweller – November 23, 2021)

https://www.professionaljeweller.com/

The country of Zimbabwe is set to become the vice-chair of the Kimberley Process in 2023, according recent reports. Zimbabwean publication NewsDay stated that a vote was held in Moscow earlier in November. Russia is the current chair.

But, asks Ryan Atkins, CEO of Nightingale, is Zimbabwe the right country to head up the Kimberley Process? It’s common knowledge for those in the diamond industry that the Kimberley Process scheme is in somewhat of an existential crisis at the moment.

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The diamond market ‘is the strongest it’s been in ten years,’ diamond expert says – by Alisha Hiyate (Northern Miner – November 8, 2021)

https://www.northernminer.com/

After a brutal 2020 that saw diamond production and sales curbed globally, with production declining more than 20% to around 107 million carats, the diamond market has bounced back strongly in 2021. Paul Zimnisky, an independent diamond industry analyst, explains what’s happened in the market, why new supply may be needed by the beginning of the next decade, and the importance of traceability initiatives in the sector.

Alisha Hiyate: The last year and a half has been a real rollercoaster for the diamond sector. Can you catch us up quickly on the effect that the pandemic has had on the diamond sector and where we are right now with the market?

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WDC President urges industry to expand definition of conflict diamonds (Diamond World – November 10, 2021)

https://www.diamondworld.net/

Speaking to the full assembly of delegates during the Opening Session of the 2021 Kimberley Process (KP) Plenary, World Diamond Council President Edward Asscher has reasserted the need for Kimberley Process members to agree to expand the conflict diamond definition in order to support long-term consumer confidence.

Asscher noted that the Plenary was taking place at a time when young consumers are increasingly expressing their demands for assurance about the social and environmental credentials of the products they buy, and highlighted that the diamond industry has the ability to deliver on these consumers’ expectations. But Kimberley Process members must act to expand the definition.

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The Right Chemistry: Lab-made diamonds testify to chemists’ ingenuity – by Joe Schwarcz (Montreal Gazette – October 29, 2021)

https://montrealgazette.com/

“O Diamond, Diamond, thou little knowest the mischief thou hast done.” Isaac Newton supposedly spoke those words upon seeing his dog Diamond upset a candle and set fire to a manuscript he had been working on for 20 years. While the story of the mischievous dog is likely apocryphal, the fire was real.

Newton was very interested in alchemy and had prepared an extensive manuscript on the subject. It was that work that mostly went up in flames, although parts survived. In 2020, three leaves of the scorched document sold at auction for over half a million dollars!

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Rio Tinto sells last Argyle diamonds at record highs – by Cecilia Jamasmie (Mining.com – October 28, 2021)

https://www.mining.com/

Rio Tinto’s (ASX, LON, NYSE: RIO) last pink, red, blue and violet diamonds from its iconic Argyle mine, in the remote east Kimberley region of Western Australia, smashed records on Thursday.

Mining ended at Argyle in November 2020, after 37 years of uninterrupted production, during which the mine became the source of about 90% of the world’s prized rose-to-magenta hued stones.

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Q&A from ALROSA on the role of diamond mining in climate change mitigation – by Will Owen (Global Mining Review – October 27, 2021)

https://www.globalminingreview.com/

As the global community prepares to gather at the UN Climate Change Conference (COP26), Peter Karakchiev, Head of International Relations at ALROSA, reflects on the key challenges and opportunities for the diamond mining sector in relation to climate change mitigation, how the sector can offset its global carbon emissions and what ALROSA is doing to make its operations more sustainable.

What are the key challenges and opportunities for the diamond mining sector in relation to climate change mitigation?

As the world’s largest diamond mining company by volume, ALROSA recognises that the 2020s are a crucial decade for climate action – and that we have a responsibility to help mitigate climate change.

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World’s biggest diamond miner warns that supplies will remain tight – by Benjamin Parkin (Financial Times – October 24, 2021)

https://www.ft.com/

Alrosa, the world’s largest diamond miner, warned that global supplies of the precious stone would remain tight for several years because of mine closures and a dearth of new projects.

Evgeny Agureev, deputy chief executive of the Russian group, said Alrosa’s inventories had hit historic lows as demand rebounded from last year’s Covid-19 disruptions.

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Brilliant Earth Opens Strong On Nasdaq As Investors Back Its Ethical Jewelry Mission – by Pamela N. Danziger (Forbes Magazine – September 24, 2021)

https://www.forbes.com/

It was thumbs-up for digitally-native, mission-driven jewelry brand Brilliant Earth (NASDAQ NDAQ -1.1%: BRLT) on its first day of public trading. The stock value blew past its opening price of $12 per share to close at $17.16, a 43% rise.

Taking a cautious turn right before its NASDAQ debut, Brilliant Earth reduced its original $14 to $16 per share price range and halved its plans to sell some 16.7 million shares to 8.3 million. But by mid-afternoon, it topped $16 per share to reach a day’s high of $18.23. By end of day, nearly 8 million shares were sold.

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Blood diamonds aren’t a girl’s best friend – by Karen Attiah (Washington Post/Santa Fe New Mexican – August 28, 2021)

https://www.santafenewmexican.com/

Diamonds, I’m sorry to say, aren’t Beyoncé’s best friend — even if the Grammy Award-winning artist and her new corporate partner, Tiffany and Co., would like to make it so.

Last week, Tiffany released a new campaign featuring Beyoncé, husband Jay-Z — and the famed 128.54 carat yellow Tiffany diamond, discovered in South Africa in 1877 at the Kimberley Mine by Charles Lewis Tiffany. His iconic company gleefully lauded the fact that Beyoncé is only the fourth woman — and first Black woman — to wear the glamorous necklace; her predecessors include Audrey Hepburn, who wore the stone in publicity photos for her 1961 movie, Breakfast at Tiffany’s.

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