Diamonds – Mining, Lab-Grown and Conflict/Blood – Page 35

Diamonds that fell to Earth came from long-lost planet, researchers say – by Joseph Brean (National Post – April 18, 2018)

April 18, 2018

The surprisingly large size of these extraterrestrial gemstones is the first direct evidence for the mysterious planet that has since disappeared from our solar system

Specks of diamond inside a meteor that fell from space into the Nubian Desert of northern Sudan were formed inside a long-lost planet in the early years of the solar system, according to a new scientific report.

The surprisingly large size of these extraterrestrial gemstones is the first compelling and direct evidence for the mysterious planet that has since disappeared from the solar system, either by colliding and being absorbed into another planet, or being incinerated in the sun, or cast off into outer space.

At least some of it stuck around, however, in the form of a small asteroid, perhaps four metres across, that spent millions of years in some kind of local orbit until one special night in 2008, when astronomer Richard Kowalski noticed a blip on a screen at the Mount Lemmon telescope in Arizona.

Lucara Unearths Another Massive Diamond From Botswana Mine – by Danielle Bochove (Bloomberg News – April 12, 2018)

April 13, 2018

https://www.bloomberg.com/

Lucara Diamond Corp. has recovered yet another massive diamond in Botswana, at a site previously owned by giant De Beers.

The 472-carat light brown stone is the third largest found by Vancouver-based Lucara at the Karowe mine. The site has proven a windfall for the Canadian miner which now produces some of the biggest and best diamonds in the world.

“The early sampling work that was done on Karowe was done with equipment that really was not optimal and they ended up breaking a lot of diamonds,” Chief Executive Officer Eira Thomas said in a telephone interview Thursday. “When we went into commercial production we expected to do better but we had no idea that the diamonds that were being broken were so much larger. ”

Where Did Zimbabwe’s Diamond Money Go? – by Sebastian Mhofu (Voice of America (April 11, 2018)

April 12, 2018

https://www.voanews.com/

HARARE — Lawmakers in Zimbabwe are preparing to summon ex-president Robert Mugabe to answer for his management of the diamond sector, which he nationalized in 2016.

Mugabe announced the state seizure two years ago on Zimbabwe state TV, saying, “There has been a lot of secrecy … and we have been blinded. We have not received much from the diamond industry at all.”

Foreign mining companies operating in the country were quick to challenge the stop-work orders in court, and some cases are still pending.

World’s Most Valuable Diamond Mine Set to Get Even Bigger – by Mbongeni Mguni (Bloomberg News – April 5, 2018)

April 6, 2018

https://www.bloomberg.com/

The world’s most valuable diamond mine is set to get even bigger. Debswana, the joint venture between Anglo American Plc’s De Beers unit and Botswana’s government, is seeking permission to deepen the Jwaneng mine to 830 meters (2,700 feet), according to a notice published in local newspapers Thursday.

The Cut 9 project will extend the mine’s life by 11 years, to 2035, and allow the extraction of a further 50 million carats.

Jwaneng, which started full operations in 1982, is the world’s largest diamond producer by value and currently 650 meters deep. Cut 9 will involve stripping away waste at the bottom of the mine, both widening and deepening the pit.

Antwerp’s humble diamantaires – by Estelle Hakner (Geographical – March 22, 2018)

March 22, 2018

http://geographical.co.uk/

Diamonds are perhaps the least modest of all jewels. But, in Antwerp, they have attracted a community known for its humility

On the outskirts of Antwerp, in the Wilrijk neighbourhood, a piece of India stands tall and serene: a magnificent and intricately ornate temple made from 3,500 tons of white, hand-carved Makrana marble, the same as that used in the Taj Mahal.

At its entrance, an Indian man in a white robe, no shoes and a square piece of cloth over his mouth sweeps the path before him as he walks, brushing away any insects so as not to tread on them. The cloth square on his mouth is a muhapatti and stops him accidentally inhaling and killing organisms in the air.

This regal and elaborate temple belongs to the Jains – a community that, since the early 1970s, has had an ever-growing presence in Belgium’s Flemish city. Guided by principles of non-possession and non-violence, they traditionally live in a way that does not harm other living beings.

Fifth-largest gem quality diamond in history sold for $40 million – by Cecilia Jamasmie (Mining.com – March 13, 2018)

March 13, 2018

http://www.mining.com/

Gem Diamonds found the 910-carat diamond, named “The Lesotho Legend,” in January.

The world’s fifth biggest gem-quality diamond ever found was sold for $40 million on Monday, the company that found the massive rock said.

Africa-focused Gem Diamonds (LON:GEMD) dug up the D colour, Type IIa rough diamond, which is about the size of two golf balls, at its flagship Letšeng mine in Lesotho in January.

The rock, named “The Lesotho Legend,” was acquired by an unnamed buyer in Antwerp, Belgium, the company said.

Global diamond supply expected to decrease this year – by Paul Zimnisky (Mining.com – March 6, 2018)

March 6, 2018

http://www.mining.com/

Expert estimates it will fall 3.4% to 147 million carats.

Coming off of 2017, a year in which global diamond supply by volume increased by 11.7% year-over-year, supply is forecast to contract by 3.4% to 147M carats in 2018 (see appendix at bottom for itemized analysis by mine).

Out of the world’s top three diamond miners by volume, only De Beers is expected to increase production this year, while diamond output at Russia’s ALROSA (MICEX: ALRS) and diversified-major Rio Tinto (LSE: RIO) is estimated to decline, more than offsetting De Beers’ increase. Combined, the three companies represent approximately 70% of global diamond supply by volume.

De Beers

Company-wide, De Beers is estimated to produce 34.6M carats worth $5.7B in 2018 which is enough to maintain its status as industry-leader in terms of value produced. The production volume figure represents a modest 1.2M carat increase year-over-year, with the boost expected to primarily come from the company’s Jwaneng mine in Botswana, the richest diamond mine in the world in terms of value produced.

Lucara Diamond’s stock is cheap – but not necessarily a bargain – by Ian McGugan (Globe and Mail – March 2, 2018)

March 2, 2018

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

Value hunters like to talk about whether a stock is cheap or pricey on the basis of its earnings and cash flow. But sometimes you have to go well beyond the financial statements to assess an investment.

A case in point is Lucara Diamond Corp. It seems to be a value hunter’s dream – a high-performing company with a spotless balance sheet selling for a below-market multiple. But is the Vancouver-based miner really as cheap as it appears to be on paper?

Let’s start with the positives. Lucara operates a diamond mine in Botswana and has a history of unearthing massive gems, including the largest gem-quality diamond discovered in more than a century. It has been consistently profitable since 2013, pays a 4.4-per-cent dividend and doesn’t have a penny of debt. Better yet, it changes hands for a mere 11 times earnings.

The World’s Cobalt Supply Is In Jeopardy – by Frank Holmes (Forbes Magazine – February 27, 2018)

March 1, 2018

https://www.forbes.com/

Disney’s Black Panther is in theaters right now, breaking all kinds of box office records and wowing audiences. The film features a fictional, highly-advanced African country known as Wakanda, whose vast wealth and prosperity are derived almost exclusively from the mining of a rare, fantastical metal called vibranium.

In its own colorful way, Black Panther does an excellent job dramatizing mining’s important role in supplying the world with much-needed raw materials. Vibranium is the basis for everything in the film, from the title character’s flashy superhero suit to Wakanda’s otherworldly infrastructure and vehicles, to its futuristic medicine and weaponry.

Like Wakanda, the real Africa is rich in minerals and metals, many of them extremely valuable. Think platinum and palladium in South Africa, diamonds in Botswana, copper in Zambia and cobalt in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

The bright side of the diamond supply gap – by Daniel Israelson (Globe and Mail – February 27, 2018)

February 28, 2018

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

For investors scratching their heads about the future of volatile world markets this year, David Whittle offers an alternative: Say it with diamonds. “We’re the largest new diamond mine in the Northwest Territories,” says Mr. Whittle, interim president and CEO of Mountain Province Diamonds Inc. (MPVD).

His Toronto-based company is a 49-per-cent joint venture partner with mining giant De Beers Canada Inc. in the mine called Gahcho Kué, a remote fly-in/fly out operation 280 kilometres northwest of Yellowknife.

“De Beers is the operator. They run it hands-on, and we’re fully involved with the oversight and management. We take a fulsome role in the decision-making,” Mr. Whittle says. The mine started pre-commercial production in 2016 and went into commercial production in the middle of last year.

Prosperous 2017 for De Beers means N.W.T. diamond industry warming up: Chamber of Mines – by Gabriela Panza-Beltrandi (CBC News North – February 26, 2018)

February 27, 2018

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

De Beers Canada brought in close to $260 million in earnings in 2017

A prosperous year for De Beers Canada could mean the diamond industry is warming up in Northwest Territories, according to the executive director of NWT and Nunavut Chamber of Mines.

In the 2017 fiscal year, De Beers Canada brought in close to $260 million in earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization. “We had a tremendous production year. We had the biggest ever production output from Canada,” said Kim Truter, CEO of De Beers Canada.

“We’re looking at another bumper year from Canada, something we’re very excited about.” Truter said it’s thanks in large part to the Gahcho Kue mine, located about 280 kilometres northeast of Yellowknife.

First Nation, mining company announce partnership – by Alexandra Paul (Winnipeg Free Press – February 20, 2018)

February 21, 2018

https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/

A remote Manitoba First Nation has made history by partnering up with a mining company to explore diamond claims staked in the Oxford Lake area.

There’s only an outside chance the deal between Altius Resources Inc. and Manitoba’s Bunibonibee Cree Nation will lead to a new mining source for diamonds, but its chief and the lawyers who mediated the agreement with Altius say the deal breaks ground even if there’s never enough diamonds to open up a mine.

“It is very historic. It is, we believe, the first of its kind in Manitoba. It sets out the conditions for acquiring the First Nation’s consent. Which means the company has acquired it, but has done so on a whole series of protection and compensatory measures that are sufficient for the First Nation,” said Kate Kempton, counsel for the First Nation at the Toronto-based law firm Olthuis, Kleer and Townshend.

How glitz and glamour deceits banks time and again – by Atmadip Ray and Sangita Mehta (Economic/India Times – February 21, 2018)

February 21, 2018

https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/

Diamonds are regarded as the hardest known material on the planet. Going by the mounting pile of loan delinquencies, they seem to be the hardest business for Indian bankers to crack.

Last week, Punjab National BankBSE 0.47 % (PNBBSE 0.47 %) acknowledged an elaborate web of deception that had defrauded the lender, on initial count, of Rs 11,400 crore. PNB’s startling disclosure involving diamond jewellery designer Nirav Modi capped a string of striking defaults by businesses in polished stones, putting the spotlight on the underwriting skills of bankers financing an industry famed for its glitz and glamour.

Among the delinquents are Gitanjali GemsBSE -9.85 %, promoted by Modi’s maternal uncle Mehul Choksi, that owes about Rs 9,000 crore to lenders, Winsome Diamond that defaulted on Rs 6,800 crore, Surat’s Vincent Diamond that caused losses of Rs 4,500 crore and JB Diamond, which defaulted on Rs 800 crore of loans.

Zimbabwe: Account for the Missing $15 Billion – Mnangagwa Told (All Africa.com – February 14, 2018)

February 15, 2018

http://allafrica.com/

Presidential candidate in the forthcoming elections, Dr Noah Manyika, who leads the Build Zimbabwe Alliance party, says President Emmerson Mnangagwa and his Vice Presidents must be held accountable for the $15 billion worth of diamonds revenue, as they were in critical positions when the loot reportedly happened.

Former President Robert Mugabe broke the news of the missing $15 billion diamond revenue in an interview to mark his 92nd birthday in March in 2016, saying Treasury had received $2 billion since diamond mining operations started in 2008.

There has not been any arrests made since, although a “witch hunt ” was launched in November of 2016. Dr Manyika, who is one of the several presidential aspirants, said Mnangagwa should be held accountable for the loot together with Vice Presidents Kembo Mohadi and Constantino Chiwenga.

[DeBeers Greenhouse] Writer raising funds to build greenhouse in Attawapiskat – by Emma Meldrum (Timmins Daily Press – February 14, 2018)

February 14, 2018

http://www.timminspress.com/

TIMMINS – It’s far from a done deal, but if David Franks has his way, a greenhouse will be built in Attawapiskat First Nation thanks to the proceeds of his book.

Published late last year, 30 Days in Attawapiskat details “the observations and impressions of a once-proud, yet blissfully ignorant Canadian writer who spent a month on the fly-in First Nation reserve,” according to the description on Amazon. Half of net profits from that book will be used to design and build a community greenhouse on the reserve.

Franks was recently back in the community to talk to Chief Ignace Gull. The meeting left the writer “kind of stymied at the moment for where we can build this.” Gull told The Daily Press there simply isn’t space. “We don’t have space in the community for other buildings or structures. Everything has been designated for our housing project,” said the chief. Nearby Potato Island is an option.