Diamonds – Mining, Lab-Grown and Conflict/Blood – Page 42

Diamonds are forever, but buyers are not: How the gem industry is wooing millennials – by Jon Yeomans (The Telegraph – July 16, 2016)

July 18, 2016

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/

In 1947, copywriter Frances Gerety invented the tagline “A diamond is forever” on behalf of South Africa’s De Beers Group. Dubbed the “slogan of the century”, the strapline has been in use ever since, tapping consumers’ desire to own a timeless, precious symbol of love.

“It has survived because ‘a diamond is forever’ summarises that sense of commitment and bond,” says Stephen Lussier, De Beers’ executive in charge of marketing. The marketing prowess of De Beers, which at one point controlled 90pc of the diamond market, cemented the ritual of buying a diamond engagement ring in people’s minds. But since 2000, the industry has undergone profound change.

In a bid to operate freely in the US, De Beers bowed to antitrust pressure and surrendered its monopoly on diamond sales. It now oversees around 34pc of rough diamond sales worldwide and a new set of players such as Petra, Gem and Lucara have emerged.

Emerald city: How gemstone-rich Colombia is embracing ethical sourcing – by Nathalie Atkinson (Globe and Mail – July 15, 2016)

July 18, 2016

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/

It may be churlish of me to highlight this during wedding season, but as scientist and jeweller Aja Raden points out in her cultural history Stoned, gemstones are “just colourful gravel.” She elaborates on the fraught history and desire around precious objects – pearls, emeralds, wristwatches – with diamonds as one cautionary tale via Marie Antoinette, whose downfall was precipitated by jewellery.

The human history of attraction to bright shiny objects has not exactly been about supply chain integrity or corporate social responsibility – instead, think envy, greed, violence, suffering, slavery, incursions and the guillotine.

To understand the role of gems and jewels in luxury today, it’s necessary to consider, as Raden does, the brilliant “A diamond is forever” campaign that De Beers whipped up in 1947 after the South African diamond rush that saw the company gain control of 99 per cent of the planet’s diamonds.

Peregrine Diamonds needs a $95M all-weather road – by Jane Sponagle (CBC News North – July 13, 2016)

July 14, 2016

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

‘The road in is a critical piece of infrastructure’

A diamond company working on Baffin Island says it could spend 10 years extracting roughly $2.5 billion in net revenue — but first it needs to build a $95 million all-weather road to Iqaluit.

Peregrine Diamonds president and chief executive officer Tom Peregoodoff held a conference call with stakeholders Tuesday to talk about the two kimberlite pipes that make up phase one of the Chidliak diamond project, 120 km northeast of Iqaluit. Peregrine has been exploring at Chidliak since 2005.

But to get the project up and running, the company needs to build a 160 km all-season road from Iqaluit to the site. “The road in is a critical piece of infrastructure and we need that prior to commencement of construction to minimize our construction capital costs,” said Peregoodoff.

Nunavut, Kitikmeot Inuit team up to build longest road in Nunavut – by Nick Murray (CBC News North – July 12, 2016)

July 13, 2016

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

Road would begin at Grays Bay and stretch south to the N.W.T.’s diamond mines

A project proposal to build the longest road in Nunavut — a 227 kilometre all-season road from the shores of the Northwest Passage — is moving closer to fruition. On Friday, the Government of Nunavut signed a memorandum of understanding with the Kitikmeot Inuit Association to partner on the project.

The road would connect a proposed deep water port at Grays Bay — on the Northwest Passage between Bathurst Inlet and Kugluktuk — to the winter road that services the N.W.T.’s diamond mines. It’s one of Nunavut’s and the N.W.T’s richest area in minerals.

“The challenge has always been lack of road infrastructure to get the product out,” said Tom Hoefer, the executive director of the N.W.T. and Nunavut Chamber of Mines. “So this is nothing new in the sense of people wanting to get road access in that region.

Botswana: Mining Job Losses Fears Mount (All Africa.com – July 11, 2016)

July 12, 2016

http://allafrica.com/

The aftermath of depressed commodity prices and slow uptake of locally produced minerals that has resulted in reduced production at Debswana diamond mines and copper mines is being felt as fears of more mining job losses escalate. The dreaded job cuts axe is hovering over workers at one of Debswana suppliers Multotec Botswana, with fears that the company may release some workers if their contracts, which end this year, are not renewed.

The company currently employs approximately 275 workers in different operations at Debswana mines in Orapa, Letlhakane and Jwaneng. The trade union representing miners, Botswana Mine Workers Union (BMWU) said last week that they are awaiting feedback from Multotec Botswana to be presented at a Joint Negotiating Committee (JNC) meeting on 07-08 July 2016.

“We do not know of any job losses. As far as we are concerned the company is still negotiating renewal of their contracts with Debswana. Some (contracts) have already been extended,” said Mbiganyi Moffat Ramokate – the Union Secretary General a day after the union presented a petition to Vice President Mokgweetsi Masisi pleading that Government intervene to save jobs in the mines, particularly at the country’s leading copper mine BCL which faces closure.

Hunting for Diamonds Under Canada’s Frozen Tundra – by Danielle Bochove (Bloomberg News – July 11, 2016)

July 12, 2016

http://www.bloomberg.com/

A quarter century of digging under ice sees winners, losers, and an Irish billionaire teaming up with De Beers.

On the semi-frozen surface of Faraday Lake in Canada’s subarctic, two diamond rigs are drilling around the clock. It’s spring breakup north of the 63rd parallel, which means the Kennady Diamonds Inc. exploration team is running out of time.

“It’s starting to candle,” says geologist Martina Bezzola, scuffing her rubber boot over the fast-melting ice where vertical tunnels, or “candles,” have recently appeared. The thaw means the team has two weeks to extract kimberlite samples from beneath the lake before they’re banished to drilling onshore. “Basically it’s like sticking a needle into a haystack to determine what’s in the haystack.”

Twenty-five years after the first diamonds were found in Canada’s Northwest Territories, it’s still a game of hurry-up-and-wait. For every thousand grassroots exploration projects, only one becomes a mine. Snap Lake, one of three operating mines in the region, was shuttered by De Beers last year, a casualty of harsh geography and falling diamond prices.

Russia Sells Stake in Diamond Miner Alrosa for $815 Million (The Moscow Times – July 11, 2016)

July 12, 2016

http://www.themoscowtimes.com/

The Russian government has sold a stake in Alrosa, the world’s largest diamond miner, for 52.2 billion rubles ($816 million), the RIA Novosti news agency reported Monday.

The sale was the first in a program of partial privatizations designed to help cover a large budget deficit. The government sold 10.9 percent of Alrosa at 65 rubles ($1.01) per share — a 3.7 percent discount to their market price. The government still controls one-third of the company’s shares.

Boris Kvasov, a director at VTB Capital, one of the Russian banks that managed the sale, told the RBC news agency about 35 percent of the shares were bought by the Russian Direct Investment Fund, a state-backed investor. A similar amount was bought by Europeans, with Asian and Middle Eastern buyers purchasing a further 25 percent, he said.

Diamonds: Shine on – Even the ring finger cannot escape the effects of technological change (The Economist – July 2, 2016)

July 8, 2016

http://www.economist.com/

BY ANY standards, the journey taken by the Lesedi La Rona, an enormous rough diamond on auction in London this week, has been epic. The stone was forged 2.5 billion years ago in molten rocks hundreds of kilometres beneath the Earth’s surface, then thrust up out of the planet’s mantle by volcanic eruptions.

There, the diamond lay for millennia, while humans evolved, nation-states formed and technologies developed, until it was unearthed last year by miners in Botswana. The vastness of time and the power of nature give diamonds their mystique. But they could not stop the auction from flopping (see article). And they cannot protect the industry from a trio of forces that are upending businesses everywhere.

One is new technology. Synthetic diamonds can be made in laboratories, using either large presses to simulate the pressures and temperatures experienced deep underground, or a process called chemical vapour deposition to grow diamonds as carbon atoms settle on top of each other.

Diamond giant calls Calgary home – by Andrea MacLean (CTV Calgary – July 7, 2016)

July 8, 2016

http://calgary.ctvnews.ca/

Amidst thousands of jobs losses and shrinking head offices in our city, some unusual news: a prestigious diamond company has decided to call Calgary its new home. De Beers is one of the largest diamond mining and processing companies in the world.

Like oil, the market for diamonds has dipped. So, in an effort to cut costs, the diamond giant decided to move their Canadian corporate headquarters from Toronto to Calgary. There were other cities in contention – including Vancouver – but De Beers Canada CEO, Kim Truter, says Calgary perfectly suited to their needs.

“Taking into account things like logistics, cost of living, attraction, retention – all of those criteria – Calgary came out the winner,” said Truter, “especially on the logistics aspect. As you know, Calgary is the logistics hub of Canada; so, it’s perfect for our needs.”

First, Find the World’s Biggest Diamonds. Then Don’t Break Them. – by Thomas Biesheuvel and Kevin Crowley (Bloomberg News – July 6, 2016)

July 6, 2016

http://www.bloomberg.com/

A black-and-yellow dump truck rumbles up from a giant pit in the mountains of southern Africa, carrying a load of freshly blasted slate-gray rock from the Letseng mine. With luck it will contain a golf-ball sized diamond worth perhaps $20 million. With even more luck the stone won’t get smashed.

Keeping giant gems intact during the mining process is a challenge for the two companies that account for most of the global production of these multi-million dollar whoppers. They’ve unearthed 15 of the 20 largest diamonds found in the past decade. Almost every one lost a chunk at some point in the process, including a stone called the Lesedi La Rona that is the largest found in more than a century.

“Since the time of the caveman mining hasn’t changed much. You pulverize the rock and take out what you want,” said Clifford Elphick, chief executive officer of Gem Diamonds Ltd., which runs Letseng. “That’s fine in the metals business, but in the diamond business it’s not an appealing technique.”

Lucara shares drop after its giant diamond fails to sell at auction – by Ian McGugan (Globe and Mail – June 30, 2016)

June 30, 2016

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/

Shares of Lucara Diamond Corp. of Vancouver nosedived on Wednesday after the giant gemstone it discovered last year failed to sell at a London auction.

The top bid of $61-million (U.S.) fell short of Lucara’s minimum selling price for its historic discovery. Slightly smaller than a tennis ball, the 1,109-carat stone is the largest diamond unearthed in more than a century.

Lucara’s shares plunged as much as 17 per cent in the hours after the auction and finished the day down 14.5 per cent. The stock had doubled in price over the past year as Lucara produced a stream of supersized diamonds from its Karowe mine in Botswana.

This Canadian company found the largest diamond in 100 years – by Steven Threndyle (Canadian Business Magazine – June 28, 2016)

June 28, 2016

http://www.canadianbusiness.com/

Vancouver’s Lucara Diamond is auctioning off the 1,109-carat Lesedi La Rona diamond, and investors are betting on more exceptional finds

If you own stock in Lucara Diamond Corp. (TSX: LUC), chances are the date of June 29, 2016, looms large in your calendar. That’s the day when Lucara’s monster rough diamond—1,109 carats and “roughly the size of an avocado”—is going up for auction by Sotheby’s International Jewellery Division in London, England.

News of Lucara’s discovery of the Lesedi La Rona diamond (it was named in a national contest held in Botswana and translates into “our light” in the Tswana language) has helped invigorate a mining category that has languished in the wake of a global recession, not to mention a campaign by Blood Diamond star Leonardo DiCaprio to promote synthetic alternatives to alleviate working conditions of miners in Africa.

Canadian Rich New Diamond Mine Ready to Sparkle: The Five-Minute Interview: Patrick Evans – by Avi Krawitz (Diamonds.net – June 23, 2016)

June 23, 2016

http://www.diamonds.net/

RAPAPORT… Gahcho Kué, billed as the largest and richest of the new diamond mines, is now “weeks rather than months” from launching more than 20 years after it was first discovered in Canada’s Northwest Territories. Patrick Evans (pictured below), president and chief executive officer of Mountain Province, took time out to speak with Rapaport News about the prospects for the mine, which Mountain Province co-owns with De Beers, and what the diamond market can expect from this new source of rough.

Rapaport News: When will you hold your first sale given that production is slated for the third quarter?

Patrick Evans: Sales will depend on how quickly production builds up. It will take the processing plant around six months to reach commercial production, which is about 70 percent of capacity. We expect to take about eight months to reach full capacity.

India wants private sector to explore for diamonds, gold – by Krishna N. Das (Reuters India – June 20, 2016)

June 20, 2016

http://in.reuters.com/

NEW DELHI – India is seeking the participation of Rio Tinto and Anglo American’s De Beers to explore for diamonds and gold, part of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ambition to make the country a major mineral producer, the mines secretary said.

Balvinder Kumar told Reuters on Monday that the Indian government will start to auction the rights to up to 70 diamond and gold exploration zones to mining companies this year.

India stopped producing diamonds years ago and produces only a small amount of gold, although it is the world’s second-biggest consumer of the yellow metal. Modi wants to revive the sector, with most of the exploration and production conducted by the private sector. The blocks that will go on sale are among 100 mineral zones identified by the state-run Geological Survey of India following an aerogeophysical assessment.

[De Beers and diamond mining] Eye-opening Attawapiskat documentary a labour of love for Ottawa filmmaker – by Evelyn Harford (Ottawa Citizen – June 17, 2016)

June 20, 2016

After The Last River – Official Trailer from Victoria Lean on Vimeo.

http://ottawacitizen.com/

Nearly eight years ago, Ottawa-raised documentary filmmaker, Vicki Lean, immersed herself into the Attawapiskat First Nation. Three states of emergency later, she came away with a documentary film that exposes the reality of living down stream from an open-pit diamond mine.

After the Last River, which begins a three-day run at the ByTowne Cinema Sunday, delves headfirst into what mineral extraction from the De Beers Victor diamond mine has meant for Attawapiskat. The eye-opening documentary provides an intimate glimpse into the complex issues that underpin systemic poverty and crisis in the remote northern community, situated on the edge of James Bay.