(IDEX Online News) – Stellar Diamonds plc has announced it has recovered a 55.64-carat diamond from its Baoulé kimberlite in Guinea.

 

The stone is the largest yet recovered from Baoulé. It is thought to be unusual because of an apparent low-quality coating that may mask a higher quality diamond within its interior.

 

Stellar’s trial mining of the kimberlite pipe has yielded a total of 8,043 carats to date – at an average grade of 12.7 carats per hundred tons (cpht).

 

The company believes that the kimberlite is a source of large stones, having already recovered several gem quality diamonds of more than 12 carats.

 

“We are extremely encouraged to have recovered this 55-carat stone as it confirms that the Baoulé pipe is a possible source of the large diamonds which have been mined in alluvial deposits downstream…for many years, several of which have been 100+ carats in size,” said Stellar chief executive Karl Smithson.

 

“With approximately 63 percent of our trial mining and processing at Baoulé now complete, subject to the company having sufficient working capital, we are currently on track to finalise the trial mining and processing of 100,000 tonnes in Q3.”

(IDEX Online News) – Canadian junior mining company Peregrine Diamonds Ltd., has announced that it has settled its Chidliak project royalty dispute with BHP Billiton Canada Inc. (BHPB).

 

According to a previous agreement from 2012, Peregrine had granted BHPB a 2 percent Gross Over Riding Royalty on future mineral production, including diamonds. BHPB agreed to terminate the Royalty Agreement, after Peregrine stopped its legal action against the company, and had made a $125,000 cash payment.

 

“The termination of the Chidliak Royalty is a very good outcome for Peregrine’s shareholders and the Chidliak project,” said Peregrine executive chairman Eric Friedland.

 

“The project is now completely unencumbered, and the removal of this significant charge will have a substantial positive impact on any future diamond production at Chidliak.”

 

In addition to the 100-percent owned Chidliak project, Peregrine Diamonds also controls eight prospective diamond prospecting licenses in Botswana.

(IDEX Online News) – In a change to its usual practice, De Beers, through its online auction subsidiary Diamdel, will offer small and medium Indian diamantaires an opportunity to participate at a rough tender, according to The Times of India.

 

Following representations from the Gem and Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) and the Surat Diamond Association (SDA), De Beers has agreed to register smaller businesses than usual for the auction, which is due to be held at the Bharat Diamond Bourse’s (BDB) recently inaugurated India Diamond Trading Centre (IDTC).

 

Until now, auctions of this type have been held in either Dubai or Antwerp – from where around 30 percent of India’s diamonds are imported.

 

Regional GJEPC chairman Dinesh Navadiya said, “It is a big opportunity for small and medium diamantaires to register for free with Diamdel and participate in the tender auction of rough diamonds. They (company) have agreed after a strong representation from GJEPC and SDA.”

(IDEX Online News) – Petra Diamonds Ltd., has announced that its revenue dropped 28 percent in the first half of 2016 – $154 million – down from $214.8 million in same period a year prior.

 

The company said that that the volume of carats sold during the period was also down – decreasing from 1,401,575 in first quarter 2015 to 1,303,051 in 2016, which represents a 7-percent decrease. Petra expects the second half of 2016 to be stronger due to the timing of its tenders – four of which are due to take place during this period.

 

Production across the company’s five mines increased 2 percent to 1,629,403 carats compared to 1,601,069 over the same period in 2015. At the Kimberley Underground mine, production was ramped up 17 percent.

 

Diamond inventory at the end of 2015 was 666,357 carats, valued at $57.4 million.

 

Petra said that the group’s expansion projects, including at Finsch, Cullinan and Koffiefontein are on schedule and expected to be delivered on time. The company also confirmed its 49.9 percent share of Kimberley Mines in South Africa, having entered a partnership with local tailings producer Ekapa Mining (Pty).

 

“We have made a good start to the year, with production of 1.6 Mcts ahead of our target for H1 FY 2016 of 1.5 Mcts, placing us in a good position to achieve full year guidance of 3.3 – 3.4 Mcts,” said Petra CEO Johan Dieppenaar.

 

“Importantly our expansion programmes remain on track to deliver the first significant input of undiluted ore from the new mining areas in H2 FY 2016, which will lead to improved ROM grades and a better product mix.”

(IDEX Online News) – Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) governor John Mangudya has urged the Zimbabwean government to improve its record of transparency and accountability in the diamond sector, according to a report in Newsday.

 

Speaking at an economic symposium in Harare recently, Mangudya said that Zimbabweans might be poor, but that the economy was not – and he sought to address the discrepancy.

 

He acknowledged that there was transparency in tobacco production in Zimbabwe, but that contributions to the economy from the diamond sector were more opaque, especially when compared to other southern African countries such as Botswana and Namibia.

 

“There is no fertiliser required for diamonds, we don’t know what has been exported. We need to improve on transparency and accountability, we need to improve on the usage of foreign currency, it’s terrible. We export the commodity and the currency,” he said.

 

Mangudya said that the key missing ingredient was discipline, and that the concentration of a large percentage of the wealth in the hands of a few was detrimental to the entire economy.

 

Analysts have also warned that the government’s decision to merge diamond mining companies into the Zimbabwe Consolidated Diamond Corporation (ZCDC) will flounder, unless the lack of transparency and accountability is addressed, according to a report on allafrica.com.

 

The report states that part of the issue is the presence of existing governmental figures that have done little or nothing to alleviate the murkiness of the diamond industry, and, who will also be present in the new corporation.

 

Alluvial diamonds from Chiadzwa, a vast diamond field, whose exploration was limited to certain preferred companies, including those linked to the Chinese military, were exhausted nearly two years ago. The consolidation, which according to Minister of Mines and Mining Development Walter Chidhakwa was supposed to improve transparency and accountability among the Chiadzwa companies, did not prevent vast amounts of money leaving the country.

 

The report also claims that the Zimbabwean government failed to invest in exploration for diamondiferous kimberlites when the alluvial diamonds had been exhausted. Rio Tinto, which used to own a majority of Murowa diamonds, sold its stake in the company, uneasy about what the merger into the ZCDC would mean.

 

John Robertson, an economic consultant, doubted whether the government has the financial wherewithal to sustain the consolidated diamond entity. He said that deep mining required more financial input and expertise than alluvial mining, claiming that outside investors would not find the economic climate attractive.

(IDEX Online News) – Australian-miner Lucapa Diamond Company has announced the largest yet-recovered stone from its Lulo mine in Angola.

 

The 133.4 carat diamond was recovered from initial processing of new gravels from Mining Block 6. The company said that the stone was not of particularly high quality, but its recovery along with three other specials from this sample, and six previously recovered specials weighing 95.5 carats, 53.2 carats, 32.2 carats, 24.5 carats, 13.7 carats and 10.9 carats, show that Mining Block 6 could be a significant source of large alluvial diamonds.

 

Lucapa had recently announced that heavy rains had restricted access to certain alluvial deposits, but Mining Block 6 continues to be accessible.

 

“We are certainly excited by what we are seeing at Mining Block 6,” said Lucapa chief executive Stephen Wetherall.   

 

“The fact that the 133.4 carat stone is a compound diamond, which is unlikely to have traveled very far from its primary source – and its relative proximity downstream to Mining Block 8 and our high priority kimberlite targets – we believe is very significant.”

 

The previous largest diamond found at Lulo was a 131.4 carat D-color Type IIa diamond recovered from bulk sampling in 2012.

(IDEX Online News) – The GIA has expanded its lab and educational facilities in Gaborone, Botswana. The lab said the expansion supports its continued beneficiation efforts by bringing value-added services to gem-producing countries.

 

The lab said that through the expansion, which includes more classroom space, it is advancing its goal of making Gaborone the destination for industry-leading gemological education in Africa.

 

“Botswana plays a significant role in the diamond industry as one of the largest producing countries – both by value and volume,” said Susan Jacques, GIA’s president and CEO.

 

“Much of the benefit of that diamond production comes from Botswana’s forward-thinking decision to participate in every possible step of the value chain. It is a great source of pride for me and for everyone at GIA that we have had the opportunity to support this ongoing effort.”

 

The opening was attended by gem and jewelry industry leaders and top government officials including the US Ambassador to the Republic of Botswana, Earl R. Miller, and Botswana’s Minister of Minerals, Energy and Water Resources, Kitso Mokaila.

 

The GIA lab was established in Botswana in 2008. Currently, it employs 95 people in Gaborone, including 65 trained by GIA as diamond graders.

(IDEX Online News) – The United Nations General Assembly has endorsed an Angola-drafted resolution on the role of diamonds in fueling conflicts, according to a report on Angop – The Angola Press Agency.

 

Bernardo Campos, 2015 Kimberley Process (KP) chairman led the delegation, presenting a report and draft resolution that has been co-sponsored by 39 UN member states.

 

The report backed the work of the KP in attempting to interrupt the causal link the illegal raw diamond trade and the funding of armed conflicts.

 

Campos said that the KP was instrumental in highlighting the positive results of cooperation between governments, the private sector and civil society. Their relationship helps to bolster the legitimate diamond trade, reduce poverty, and promote transparency and economic development, while fighting trafficking.

 

Other Angolan officials in attendance included Endiama CEO Antonio Carlos Sumbula, and high ranking diplomats from the country’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations in New York, presented the draft resolution.

(IDEX Online News) – De Beers has announced that the sale of its Kimberly Mine and all its assets has been completed.

 

Ekapa Mineral Ltd., an investor consortium comprising a 50.1 percent Ekapa Mining Pty stake and a 49.9 percent Petra Diamonds Limited stake are the new confirmed owners.

 

When it first announced it was selling the mine, De Beers received more than 70 expressions of interest. The company was impressed with Ekapa Minerals, not just for its technical expertise in tailings mineral resources, but its ongoing commitment to the Kimberley region.

 

De Beers Consolidated Mines continues to operate two other diamond mines in South Africa, namely Voorspoed Mine in Kroonstad and Venetia Mine in the Limpopo Province.

(IDEX Online News) – The diamond industry is showing encouraging signs of recovery, but it is in a delicate position and may be subject to some volatility, according to De Beers Group chief executive Phillippe Mellier.

 

Speaking to Sightholders at De Beers’ first Sight of the year, Mellier acknowledged that 2015 had been a challenging year, for individual businesses and the industry as a whole. He said that the difficulties were different from those presented in the global economic downturn of 2008, and that it had been necessary to absorb the unfavorable trading conditions in the short-term, to protect the industry’s long-term viability.

 

Striking a positive note Mellier said, “We have seen polished diamond prices start to stabilize and even increase in certain areas, we have seen some encouraging early indications from holiday season sales in the US consumer market and we have seen greater trading activity than at the end of 2015.” He warned, however, that macroeconomic conditions, including the strong dollar could have a negative effect on downstream demand.

 

He announced that De Beers would focus on supply and demand in 2016. On the supply side, the company will restructure the Global Sightholder Sales business, allowing Sightholders more flexibility on the uptake of goods. De Beers acknowledged that there was reduced demand for rough, and that the forecast for 2016 was unpredictable. Production in the first half of the year will likely be down as a result.

 

On the demand side, Mellier said that De Beers would continue to support the Diamond Producers Association (DPA) in its attempts to improve consumer confidence and demand in diamonds, while acknowledging the success of De Beers’ marketing over the holiday period.

(IDEX Online News) – The Gem and Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) is calling for the implementation of a Special Turnover Tax for the industry, with a 0.75-percent sales tax. According to a report in the Times of India (TOI), this will encourage companies owned by non-resident Indian to bring their capital back to India and to boost the country’s exports.

 

According to GJEPC chairman Praveen Shanker Pandya, the organization has urged the central government to allow the sale of rough diamonds at the SNZ in Mumbai by implementing a 0.25 per cent tax on sales turnover by foreign mining companies. “This would generate a new area of tax collection by shifting sales from Belgium, Israel and Dubai to India,” he said, as reported by the newspaper.

 

The latest figures from the GJEPC do not bode well for the strength of the local industry. Polished diamond exports fell 17.1 percent to $1.2 billion in December 2015, compared to $1.5 billion a year earlier.

 

Cut and polished exports fell by 14.63 percent to $14.79 billion in 2015, with rough diamond imports dropping to $10.12 billion, a decline of 23.97 percent.

 

The only bright spot was an increase in rough diamond imports, which increased 2.44 percent to $1.46 billion, up from $1.43 billion in December, said TOI.

 

Weak demand is expected to further affect the Indian industry this year.

(IDEX Online News) – Debmarine Namibia’s newest vessel, the SS Nujoma was successfully launched recently from the Kleven Verft AS shipyard in Ulsteinvik, Norway, according to a report on Allafrica.com.

 

The 113 meter long and 12,000 ton diamond sampling and exploration vessel, named after the company’s founding president, Sam Nujoma, has been touted as the most advanced ship of its type in the world. Its subsea sampling system and treatment plant, the second part of this N$2.3 billion ($194 million) was developed in parallel with De Beers Marine South Africa.

 

Following final outfitting and sea trials, the ship will head to the Port of Cape Town for the installation of the sampling system in the second half of 2016. The ship was delivered ahead of schedule, with Debmarine expecting receipt of the vessel in 2017. It is likely that commissioning will now take place in the first half of 2017.

 

“It was a pleasure to witness the successful launch of the mv SS Nujoma. Debmarine Namibia with DeBeers Marine South Africa, Kleven shipbuilding group and Marinteknikk Naval Architects have demonstrated world class capability in producing this unique, highly innovative, mineral exploration vessel,” said Debmarine Namibia CEO, Otto Shikongo.

“Now that the vessel is floating, its outfitting will be completed prior to sea trials and final delivery from Kleven to Debmarine Namibia. Debmarine Namibia is in the process of recruiting and selecting Namibian skilled and licensed seamen who will undergo training and vessel familiarisation prior to the vessel handover,” he added.

 

Debmarine Namibia (Pty) Limited is owned wholly by Namdeb Holdings (Pty) Ltd, which is a 50/50 joint venture between the government of the Republic of Namibia and De Beers Centenary AG.

 

The company mines off the south west coast of Namibia. Debmarine Namibia accounts for more than half the total diamond production in Namibia and offshore deposits are estimated to be 80 million carats.

(IDEX Online News) – Angola is forecast to produce 8.96 million carats in 2016, according to the Ministry of Geology and Mining, reported Allafrica.com.

 

The annual industrial production target is 8.1 million carats, while artisanal production is expected to be approximately 860,000 carats. The country produced 8.837 million carats in 2015.

 

In December, Angola produced and sold 880,100 carats, valued at $104.7 million – an average price of $118 per carat. The ministry also released November 2015 figures showing that the country produced 796,700 carats with a value of $99.29 million or $124 per carat.

(IDEX Online News) – The recent trend of a drop in polished diamond exports in India continued in December with provisional figures showing that exports were $1.2 billion compared to $1.45 billion a year previously – a 17.1 percent year-on-year decline according to figures from the Gem and Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC).

 

In the year-to-date (April-December), exports of cut and polished diamonds fell to $14.79 billion compared to $17.32 billion over the same prior year period, which represents a 14.6 percent decline.

 

Polished exports also decreased by volume during the period, dropping to 1.88 million carats from 1.98 million carats in the same period in the prior year – a 5-percent decline.

 

Exports of colored gemstones declined from $20.71 million in December 2014 to $15.76 million in December 2015 – a 23.9-percent decrease.

 

The value of polished imports plummeted by 46 percent to $239 million down from $441.6 million in November 2014.

  

Rough imports increased slightly by 2.44 percent in value terms, rising to $1.46 billion million compared to $1.43 billion in the prior year.

 

In volume terms, rough diamond imports increased 6.98 percent to 15.04 million carats compared to 14.06 million carats in December 2014.

 

In the year-to-date, rough imports declined to $10.12 billion compared to $13.31 billion a year earlier – a 24-percent decrease.

 

India exported $2.93 million worth of lab-grown polished stones during the month down from $8.61 million in the prior year – a 66-percent decline.

 

The country imported $11.44 million worth of rough lab-grown stones in December, a significant 57-percent increase over the $4.92 million in the same month a year previously.

(IDEX Online News) – Lucara Diamond Corp’s CEO William Lamb has announced that his company will hold a competition to name the 1,111 carat gem-quality diamond recovered in November, according to a report in The Voice.

 

Lamb said that the world’s second-largest diamond, recovered from Lucara’s Karowe Mine, emphasized the quality of mineral resources in Botswana. The idea of Botswana naming the stone, however, emanated from Minister of Minerals Energy and Water Resources, Kitso Mokaila, who made the suggestion after going to see it.

 

The competition will run until January 28, and the winner will receive 25,000 pula ($2,150). Participants should email the name to edmond@leapfrog.co.bw – and provide an explanation of what the name means and why it was chosen.

 

Karowe has been in production since 2012, and despite only processing 2.5 million tons per year, it has recovered several significant finds, including a 342-carat stone that sold for $20.55 million.

(IDEX Online News) – Rio Tinto has announced that its diamond production in the fourth quarter of 2015 has increased by 50 percent over the same period a year previously.

 

The company produced 4.27 million carats from its Argyle and Diavik mines compared to 2.84 million carats in the fourth quarter of 2014.

 

The Argyle mine was particularly productive, increasing output by 86 percent over the same period a year prior, although down 4 percent compared to the previous quarter. Argyle’s production of 13.47 million carats was a 47-percent increase on the 9.15 million carats produced in 2014, and was facilitated by the ramp-up of production from the underground mine.

 

The Diavik mine saw a 3-percent year-on-year decline to 899,000 carats, although this figure was an 18-percent increase compared to the third quarter results. The reduction, however, was partially offset by higher recovered grades. Diavik’s 2015 production of 3.84 million carats was an 11-percent fall from the 4.26 million carats produced in 2014.

 

Rio Tinto’s full year diamond production from its three mines, Argyle, Diavik and Murowa, which it sold in June last year, increased from 13.87 million in 2014 to 17.39 million in 2015 – a 20-percent increase.

(IDEX Online News) – Dominion Diamond Corporation has announced that it recovered 1.5 million carats from its Diavik Diamond Mine in the fourth quarter of 2015.

 

The company said that its 2015 fourth quarter production results showed a 3-percent decline from the 1.54 million carats produced in the same quarter a year previously. The reduction was due to a three week long maintenance shutdown. This reduction, however, was partially offset by a higher recovered grade in its A-154 North and A-418 kimberlite pipes.

 

Dominion’s recovery of 6.4 million carats in 2015 was 9 percent lower than the company’s predicted 7 million carats. This was due to a combination of lower mining rates and the availability of the process plant in the fourth quarter. Dominion predicts that it will produce 7 million carats in 2016.

 

Based on its fourth quarter sales, Dominion predicts an average selling price of $106.25 across its three kimberlites; A-154 South, A-154 North and A-418, and also its core ore reserves.

 

The company also announced that its A-21 pipe continues to progress according to plan, and its 2016 new mine plan and budget is under review by Rio Tinto and its own auditors.

(IDEX Online News) – The Australian diamond mining industry is expected to decline 13.3 percent in 2015-2016, according to a report on australiamining.com.

 

In addition to declining oil and gas revenues, diamonds are expected to fall to AUS$380.1 million ($263.2 million), despite a short rally in 2014, which saw revenues jump 24 percent.

 

According to the Department of Industry, Innovation and Science, in 2013-14 export volumes of Australian diamonds dropped from 12.2 million carats to 10.4 million carats. Australia exports the majority of its diamonds and is, therefore, dependent on global demand. The australiamining.com report claims that while the expected fall in diamond revenues is in line with other mining sectors, Australia has oversupplied the market.

 

The exit of Kimberley Diamond’s, which in July 2015 closed its Ellendale Mine and entered it into voluntary administration, is also expected to negatively affect industry revenue.