Vast Resources Explores Potential Marange Mine

Mining company Vast Resources gained access to a section of Zimbabwe’s Marange fields with a view to developing joint operations there with a local community group.

The miner reached an agreement with Red Mercury, a subsidiary of the Marange-Zimunya Community Share Ownership Trust, to carry out due diligence over a two-month period at the Heritage Concession – a 15-square-kilometer area in the Marange fields.

If the concession proves viable, the companies will form a joint venture for exploration, mining and marketing diamonds from the site.

 Such a partnership would see Red Mercury provide the government-issued mining license, and Vast responsible for procuring funding to develop a mine.

The deal would fall in line with Zimbabwe’s indigenization laws, which require 51% ownership by a designated entity or community-share ownership trust. That law is currently under review, and could change in the next few months, Vast Resources noted.

“Having already agreed on the principal terms of the future joint venture with the MZ Community Trust, we have confidence that once the due-diligence period is complete, subject to final results, we can move swiftly in building a valuable diamond arm of our business, which is mutually beneficial for all stakeholders,” added Andrew Prelea, CEO of Vast.

Earlier this year, Vast signed a memorandum of understanding with Botswana Diamonds to develop Zimbabwe’s diamond resources and share information from past exploration of the region.

“I am delighted Vast has been awarded this exclusive access to part of the famous Marange diamond fields, and we look forward [to] working with them to realize the full potential of this area and others as they begin to emerge with Zimbabwe opening for business,” said Botswana Diamonds chairman John Teeling.

Source: DCLA

Vast Resources Explores Potential Marange Mine

Mining company Vast Resources gained access to a section of Zimbabwe’s Marange fields with a view to developing joint operations there with a local community group.

The miner reached an agreement with Red Mercury, a subsidiary of the Marange-Zimunya Community Share Ownership Trust, to carry out due diligence over a two-month period at the Heritage Concession – a 15-square-kilometer area in the Marange fields.

If the concession proves viable, the companies will form a joint venture for exploration, mining and marketing diamonds from the site.

 Such a partnership would see Red Mercury provide the government-issued mining license, and Vast responsible for procuring funding to develop a mine.

The deal would fall in line with Zimbabwe’s indigenization laws, which require 51% ownership by a designated entity or community-share ownership trust. That law is currently under review, and could change in the next few months, Vast Resources noted.

“Having already agreed on the principal terms of the future joint venture with the MZ Community Trust, we have confidence that once the due-diligence period is complete, subject to final results, we can move swiftly in building a valuable diamond arm of our business, which is mutually beneficial for all stakeholders,” added Andrew Prelea, CEO of Vast.

Earlier this year, Vast signed a memorandum of understanding with Botswana Diamonds to develop Zimbabwe’s diamond resources and share information from past exploration of the region.

“I am delighted Vast has been awarded this exclusive access to part of the famous Marange diamond fields, and we look forward [to] working with them to realize the full potential of this area and others as they begin to emerge with Zimbabwe opening for business,” said Botswana Diamonds chairman John Teeling.

Source: DCLA

Rio opens new diamond pipe in subarctic Canada

Rio Tinto opened today a fourth diamond pipe at the subarctic Diavik Diamond Mine, located in the Northwest Territories of Canada, 220 kilometres south of the Arctic Circle.

In a press release, the Anglo Australian miner said that the new open-pit pipe will provide an important source of “incremental supply over the next four years to sustain production levels at the Rio Tinto operated mine.”

In the same statement, the company explained that A21 is located adjacent to Diavik’s existing mining operations in the Lac de Gras area. It took four years to build the pipe and first ore was delivered in March. Rio expects it to be at full production during the fourth quarter of 2018.

“It is a remarkable achievement to deliver this project safely and ahead of time in such a challenging environment, positioning Diavik to continue meeting the demand for its outstanding diamonds,” Rio Tinto Copper & Diamonds chief executive, Arnaud Soirat, said in the brief.

Some $350 million were invested in the construction of A21, with the financial burden shared between Rio and joint venture partner Dominion Diamond Corporation, the latter in control of 40 per cent of the operation.

As a whole, Diavik started activities in 2003 and has an annual production of some 6-7 million carats of predominantly large, white gem-quality diamonds.

Source: mining.com

Rio opens new diamond pipe in subarctic Canada

Rio Tinto opened today a fourth diamond pipe at the subarctic Diavik Diamond Mine, located in the Northwest Territories of Canada, 220 kilometres south of the Arctic Circle.

In a press release, the Anglo Australian miner said that the new open-pit pipe will provide an important source of “incremental supply over the next four years to sustain production levels at the Rio Tinto operated mine.”

In the same statement, the company explained that A21 is located adjacent to Diavik’s existing mining operations in the Lac de Gras area. It took four years to build the pipe and first ore was delivered in March. Rio expects it to be at full production during the fourth quarter of 2018.

“It is a remarkable achievement to deliver this project safely and ahead of time in such a challenging environment, positioning Diavik to continue meeting the demand for its outstanding diamonds,” Rio Tinto Copper & Diamonds chief executive, Arnaud Soirat, said in the brief.

Some $350 million were invested in the construction of A21, with the financial burden shared between Rio and joint venture partner Dominion Diamond Corporation, the latter in control of 40 per cent of the operation.

As a whole, Diavik started activities in 2003 and has an annual production of some 6-7 million carats of predominantly large, white gem-quality diamonds.

Source: mining.com

US change of ‘diamond’ definition has Indian exports worried

India’s diamond exports to the United States of America is under threat after that country’s Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced last month that there would henceforth be no distinction between natural and man made sparklers.

The FTC had originally defined a diamond as “a natural mineral consisting essentially of pure carbon crystallized in the isometric system”. The definition has now been modified with the word “natural” removed from it. The FTC went on to say that the definition of a diamond was being changed because it was now possible to create diamonds in a laboratory. “These stones have essentially the same optical, physical and chemical properties as mined diamonds. 

Thus, they are diamonds,” FTC’s statement said. Lab-grown diamonds or “American diamonds”, as they are called, are expected to receive a big boost since the US is one of the biggest markets in the world for smaller diamonds. According to diamond traders here lab-grown diamonds are almost 40 per cent cheaper than those mined from the bowels of the earth. 

It is felt that continuing technological advances in the field will bring down the price of lab-grown diamonds even more in the coming years. India, which exported $8 billion worth of polished diamonds to the US in 2017, is worried. “We are already been reaching out to different industry bodies and stakeholders to help fashion a common global response,” Sabyasachi Ray, Executive Director, Gem and Jewellery Export Promotion Council said in a statement here last week. 

The country’s apex body of gem and jewellery exporters went on to say that it was not opposed to synthetic or lab-grown diamonds. “We have always maintained that it can be developed as a separate vertical that is not confused with the natural diamond pipeline,” Ray added.

Source:DCLA

US change of ‘diamond’ definition has Indian exports worried

India’s diamond exports to the United States of America is under threat after that country’s Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced last month that there would henceforth be no distinction between natural and man made sparklers.

The FTC had originally defined a diamond as “a natural mineral consisting essentially of pure carbon crystallized in the isometric system”. The definition has now been modified with the word “natural” removed from it. The FTC went on to say that the definition of a diamond was being changed because it was now possible to create diamonds in a laboratory. “These stones have essentially the same optical, physical and chemical properties as mined diamonds. 

Thus, they are diamonds,” FTC’s statement said. Lab-grown diamonds or “American diamonds”, as they are called, are expected to receive a big boost since the US is one of the biggest markets in the world for smaller diamonds. According to diamond traders here lab-grown diamonds are almost 40 per cent cheaper than those mined from the bowels of the earth. 

It is felt that continuing technological advances in the field will bring down the price of lab-grown diamonds even more in the coming years. India, which exported $8 billion worth of polished diamonds to the US in 2017, is worried. “We are already been reaching out to different industry bodies and stakeholders to help fashion a common global response,” Sabyasachi Ray, Executive Director, Gem and Jewellery Export Promotion Council said in a statement here last week. 

The country’s apex body of gem and jewellery exporters went on to say that it was not opposed to synthetic or lab-grown diamonds. “We have always maintained that it can be developed as a separate vertical that is not confused with the natural diamond pipeline,” Ray added.

Source:DCLA

How to Remove a Stuck Ring Safely

A stuck ring can simply be the result of wearing a ring that’s too small. It can also be caused from arthritis of joints, which can happen as your body changes over the years. This can cause the joints and/or tissue to swell, which prevents you from removing your ring.

When you can’t simply slide your ring off, try these steps for safely removing a ring:

1. Squirt some Windex – yes Windex – on the finger and ring. Or, use any lubricant such as soap or oil.
2. Elevate the hand overhead for 5-10 minutes with ice around the ring and finger.
3. Use dental floss or a thread to compress the swollen finger as shown:

a. Slip the thread or floss under the stuck ring with the bulk of it toward the fingertip.

b. Beginning at the top of the ring, snuggly wrap the finger with the thread/floss around and around, compressing the finger, all the way up and over the knuckle.

c. With the end that was under the ring, begin to unwrap the thread or floss with the ring sliding over the knuckle as you go.

*If all else fails, cut the ring off with a ring cutter found in jewelry stores, fire departments and emergency rooms.
See video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KJHUAwEx1bY
Source: assh.org