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Diamonds – Mining, Lab-Grown and Conflict/Blood

From diamonds to coal – The tragedy of trade – by Nandkumar M Kamat (Navhind Times – November 22, 2020)

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The hand of history is sometimes cruel. After enjoying status as an international diamond trading hub, Goa is now concerned about turning into a major coal importing hub in Indo-Pacific. Since there is a lot of attention to coal in local public discourse, people have forgotten the position of Goa in a related commodity- diamonds. Diamond and coal offer stark contrasts.

Diamond and coal are allotropes of carbon. Diamond is defined as a glimmering glass-like mineral that is an allotrope of carbon in which each atom is surrounded by four others in the form of a tetrahedron. Coal is defined as a black rock formed from prehistoric plant remains, composed largely of carbon and burned as a fuel.

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Lab-Grown Diamond Prices Are Falling. Here’s Why That’s Not a Bad Thing. – by Nick Scott (Robb Report – September 1, 2024)

https://robbreport.com/

The man-made stone have never had the cachet or complicated romance of mined stones. But perhaps we’re not thinking expansively enough about their best use.

Scientists discovered the ability to create synthetic diamonds back in 1954, and we’ve been arguing about them ever since. Not only about whether a man-made gemstone could be considered the same as one produced by geologic phenomenon over the course of eons—the two are chemically identical, after all, and indistinguishable to the naked eye—but also about whether it should be.

Lab-grown stones have always seemed to solve for certain ethical and environmental conundrums within the diamond industry, but as human beings, we also like our rarities, well, rare. It’s a debate, in other words, over whether diamonds are still “forever” if they’re also for everyone.

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Second-Largest Diamond Ever Found Is Discovered in Botswana – by Lynsey Chutel (New York Times – August 22, 2024)

https://www.nytimes.com/

The diamond was unearthed using new technology, and miners hope it will bring back luster to a struggling industry.

The diamond was so large that it obscured the face of Botswana’s president as he held it up for closer inspection on Thursday.

President Mokgweetsi Masisi grinned as he lifted the diamond, a 2,492-carat stone that is the biggest diamond unearthed in more than a century and the second-largest ever found, according to the Vancouver-based mining operator Lucara, which owns the mine where it was found.

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Lucara finds world’s 2nd largest diamond ever mined – by Cecilia Jamasmie (Mining.com – August 22, 2024)

https://www.mining.com/

Canada’s Lucara Diamond (TSX: LUC), has dug up a 2,492 carat diamond from its prolific Karowe mine in Botswana, the world’s second-largest stone ever mined in terms of size.

The “epic” diamond, as Lucara put it, was detected and recovered by the company’s Mega Diamond Recovery (MDR) X-ray Transmission (XRT) technology, installed in 2017 to identify and preserve large, high-value stones.

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Gahcho Kué diamond mine life extended to 2031 – by Marilyn Scales (Canadian Mining Journal – August 22, 2024)

https://www.canadianminingjournal.com/

The latest update reveals the plant at the Gahcho Kué mine will be recovering diamonds into 2031, a year later than earlier estimated. The mine, located 280 km northeast of Yellowknife, NWT, is a joint venture of De Beers Canada (operator and 51% owner) and Mountain Province Diamonds (TSX: MPVD) (49%).

The update follows engineering work to steepen the walls of the open pit. This change will allow additional kimberlite to be captured within the mine plan and represents an increase of 2.7 million tonnes at 2.0 c/t or 5.5 million carats in the resource.

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Diamonds may not be forever: Belgium’s grip on gems shaken by Russian sanctions drive – by Sunniva Rose (The National News – May 3, 2024)

https://www.thenationalnews.com/

Rules of the game are being rewritten and industry actors are jostling for influence after Russia diamond ban triggers upheaval in historic Belgian district

From the corner where the International Gemological Institute stands on one side and the Diamond Bourse on another, as far as the eye can see, the outlets at the heart of a historic Antwerp district have long inspired awe for the sheer concentration of a global trade in the most valuable cut stones.

Within a few minutes’ walk are dozens of gems dealers braced for upheaval as the wind of change blows. The latest ban on Russian diamonds by the group of seven (G7) countries has caused what many have described as nothing less than a “revolution” in the centuries-old diamond hub.

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[Diamonds] Indian Consumers Not Into Synthetics, Seek Natural: Titan – by Leah Meirovich (Rapaport Magazine – August 6, 2024)

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Domestic customers at Titan Company are less interested in buying synthetic diamonds than their US and overseas counterparts, looking more for assurances that the stones they purchase are natural.

“We’ve been trying to track the inquiries on a continuous basis across all the stores, Tanishq, CaratLane, Mia and Zoya, and so far we have not seen material inquiries for [customers wanting lab-grown diamonds],” Titan managing director C.K. Venkataraman said in an analyst call last week. “What we do hear about, what our customers are more curious about, they want to be assured that what we are selling is natural, and [doesn’t have any lab-grown in it].”

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Weak Rough Prices Hit Ekati Sales – by Suzanne Watkin (Rapaport Magazine – July 29, 2024)

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Revenue from the Ekati mine’s rough output fell 27% during the second fiscal quarter, according to owner Burgundy Diamond Mines.

The company sold 1 million carats from the Canadian deposit for $106 million for the three months that ended June 30, it said last week. That compares to the sale of 1.3 million carats for $145 million during the same period a year ago.

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Women blast through gender barriers in Colombia’s emerald mines, but struggle to emerge from poverty – by Astrid Suarez (Associated Press – March 14, 2024)

https://apnews.com/

COSCUEZ, Colombia (AP) — Deep inside mountain tunnels where the heat is so intense it causes headaches, women with power tools are chipping away at boulders in search of gems. They have opened a difficult path for themselves in Colombia’s emerald industry, a sector long dominated by men.

The lack of job opportunities, combined with the hope of a find that will make them rich, has pushed the women into mining. Colombian emeralds are known around the world for their quality and the best can be sold for thousands of dollars, though most people in the industry aren’t wealthy.

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The Current State of the Diamond Market Is…Not Good – by Rob Bates (JCK On Line – July 18, 2024)

JCK Online

Both the natural and lab-grown diamond sectors are hurting right now, industry members acknowledged at a panel on “The Current State of Diamond Market,” held July 16 during the Initiatives in Art and Culture’s 14th annual Gold + Diamond Conference in New York City.

“Business is quiet for both natural and lab-grown,” said Ronnie Vanderlinden, president of Diamex, which deals in both products. “There’s struggles at the moment. Liquidity is not strong. The U.S. market is the strongest market in the world right now. We hope that by the time September comes around, consumers will wake up and there will be better demand for both natural and lab-grown.”

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Kiran Gems’ Sister Company Grows Synthetic Diamonds – by Joshua Freedman (Rapaport Magazine – July 18, 2024)

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Mehul Vaghani, cofounder and director of Kira Diam — which claims to be the world’s largest CVD producer — gives his take on the market.

Given how many Indian diamond firms have invested in synthetics in the past five years, it’s unsurprising that the company that claims to be the world’s largest manufacturer of natural polished should also get involved.

Indeed, Kira Diam, the brainchild of Kiran Gems founder Vallabhbhai Patel, also maintains it is the world’s largest producer in its field. That field is chemical vapor deposition (CVD), the method it uses to grow gem-quality synthetic diamonds primarily for the US jewelry market.

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Anglo’s plan to sell De Beers complicated by diamond output cut – by Thomas Biesheuvel and William Clowes (Bloomberg News – July 18, 2024)

https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/

(Bloomberg) — Anglo American Plc is looking at more diamond production cuts as the industry continues to struggle, complicating its plan to sell the De Beers unit as part of a radical overhaul of its business.

Anglo announced the restructuring earlier this year as part of a successful rebuttal of a US$49 billion approach from BHP Group, the world’s the biggest miner. That plan centered around exiting diamond mining by spinning off or selling its De Beers unit, separating platinum and selling its coal mines.

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‘We now face guns’: Small-scale miners fear Wagner’s advances in CAR – by Philip Obaji Jr. (Al Jazeera – July 10, 2024)

https://www.aljazeera.com/

Local miners in the Central African Republic face eviction and violence as the Russian group takes over gold and diamond mines.

Beloko, Central African Republic – When Sadock arrived in the northwestern Central African Republic (CAR) town of Koki in November 2022, he thought he had finally found a safe place to live and work. For years, small-scale miners like him have been displaced and forced to relocate over and over again whenever foreigners entered a local area, seized surrounding gold mines and evicted local miners.

“Some of us [artisanal miners] decided to move to Koki because we thought at the time that no one was disturbing artisanal miners in the [northwest] region,” Sadock, who wanted to be identified by only his first name for fear of retribution, told Al Jazeera.

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India’s Diamond Trade Is Suffering. Why Isn’t America’s? – by Joshua Freedman (Rapaport Magazine – July 11, 2024)

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Weak demand and a supply glut have created a perfect storm for manufacturers. But the only true solution is at the consumer level.

Indian manufacturers view the current market situation as something close to a crisis. The desperation is similar to that during last year’s deep downturn. Polished prices are falling, and sightholders are losing money on rough.

But American dealers are happier. They say there is demand from retailers, albeit not at the peak levels they saw in 2021 and early 2022. They enjoyed decent sales at the Las Vegas shows, and trading is better now than before the exhibitions. So why the discrepancy?

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Ekati boss envisions another 25 years of mining – by Derek Neary (NNSL.com – July 4, 2024)

https://www.nnsl.com/

Agnico Eagle hits new marks at Meliadine and Meadowbank

The Northwest Territories’ economy continues to lean heavily on diamond production, which is waning overall, and, to a lesser extent, rare earths. In Nunavut, gold and iron ore are the backbone of GDP. Here are some noteworthy occurrences from operating mining companies in both territories.

Burgundy Diamond Mines

Burgundy Diamond Mines, owner of Ekati, reported a major jump in carats sold in its first quarter report for 2024. Its 1.32 million carats sold played a central part in the $117 million (U.S.) in revenues generated for the quarter. The total yield was 1.15 million carats, down from 1.18 million a year earlier.

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