POZ Minerals to Bid for Ellendale Mine

Only a year ago, very few in the diamond industry would have heard of POZ Minerals. But the company, better known as a phosphates producer, is trying to build a portfolio of projects in Western Australia that could make it a niche supplier of fancy-yellow diamonds.

POZ announced Tuesday that it was bidding for the Ellendale mine after the state government’s call for investors in the asset last week. While POZ already owns the adjacent Blina mine, it hopes to combine the two assets and solidify its position in the fancy-yellow category, Jim Richards, POZ chairman, explained in an interview with Rapaport News Monday.

Owning both “would result in economies of scale and efficiencies in exploration and development and would be a major step towards building a branded diamond-mining company producing the fancy yellows for which Blina and Ellendale are justifiably famous,” the company added in a statement it released Tuesday.

Richards believes the company is a front-runner in the Ellendale bid, given that it already has four mining leases at Blina and since POZ is the only miner in the area with such a license. It also already has a deal with Bunuba Group, the native titleholder for both the Blina and Ellendale land.

Ellendale comes with some history, however, after former owner Kimberley Diamonds ran up bills and a list of creditors that forced it to close the mine in 2015. That, despite a lucrative supply agreement with luxury jewelry Tiffany & Co. for its fancy-yellow diamonds.

Richards is hoping to reestablish that partnership and forge new ones with other retailers. Ellendale’s yellows have a consistency few other mines can achieve, he explains. Meanwhile, POZ is in talks with retailers in Australia and abroad for similar offtake agreements and branding of yellow diamonds from the Blina mine.

POZ is still in a testing phase at Blina and is looking for investors, or to partner with “an experienced mining company,” before production can proceed. Testing shows that fancy yellows account for about 7% of Blina’s production, while white stones make up 18%, 46% are off-white diamonds, and 29% brown. Of those, 93% are gem content or near-gem content, Richards noted.

A parcel of stones from the mine was valued at an average price of $389 per carat, with the fancy-yellow diamonds estimated at approximately $3,391 per carat.

Image: Blina mine yellow diamonds. Credit: POZ Minerals

Source: DCLA

POZ Minerals to Bid for Ellendale Mine

Only a year ago, very few in the diamond industry would have heard of POZ Minerals. But the company, better known as a phosphates producer, is trying to build a portfolio of projects in Western Australia that could make it a niche supplier of fancy-yellow diamonds.

POZ announced Tuesday that it was bidding for the Ellendale mine after the state government’s call for investors in the asset last week. While POZ already owns the adjacent Blina mine, it hopes to combine the two assets and solidify its position in the fancy-yellow category, Jim Richards, POZ chairman, explained in an interview with Rapaport News Monday.

Owning both “would result in economies of scale and efficiencies in exploration and development and would be a major step towards building a branded diamond-mining company producing the fancy yellows for which Blina and Ellendale are justifiably famous,” the company added in a statement it released Tuesday.

Richards believes the company is a front-runner in the Ellendale bid, given that it already has four mining leases at Blina and since POZ is the only miner in the area with such a license. It also already has a deal with Bunuba Group, the native titleholder for both the Blina and Ellendale land.

Ellendale comes with some history, however, after former owner Kimberley Diamonds ran up bills and a list of creditors that forced it to close the mine in 2015. That, despite a lucrative supply agreement with luxury jewelry Tiffany & Co. for its fancy-yellow diamonds.

Richards is hoping to reestablish that partnership and forge new ones with other retailers. Ellendale’s yellows have a consistency few other mines can achieve, he explains. Meanwhile, POZ is in talks with retailers in Australia and abroad for similar offtake agreements and branding of yellow diamonds from the Blina mine.

POZ is still in a testing phase at Blina and is looking for investors, or to partner with “an experienced mining company,” before production can proceed. Testing shows that fancy yellows account for about 7% of Blina’s production, while white stones make up 18%, 46% are off-white diamonds, and 29% brown. Of those, 93% are gem content or near-gem content, Richards noted.

A parcel of stones from the mine was valued at an average price of $389 per carat, with the fancy-yellow diamonds estimated at approximately $3,391 per carat.

Image: Blina mine yellow diamonds. Credit: POZ Minerals

Source: DCLA

30 Carat Fancy Pink Set for Antwerp Sale

Lesotho focused miner Namakwa Diamonds will sell a 29.59 carat, fancy pink rough stone in Antwerp this fall.

The company discovered the diamond at its KAO mine in the African country on June 12, according to brokerage firm Bonas Couzyn, which will facilitate the sale.

The stone named the Rose of KAO will appear in Antwerp for viewings from September 17 to 28, and bidding in an online tender will close October 1. The auction is part of the fourth sale of KAO goods this year.

Namakwa owns and operates the KAO mine through its subsidiary, Storm Mountain Diamonds. The asset has a record of producing fancy color diamonds.

The miner recovered the 36.06 carat Pink Storm in December 2013, and sold it the following month.

Source: DCLA

30 Carat Fancy Pink Set for Antwerp Sale

Lesotho focused miner Namakwa Diamonds will sell a 29.59 carat, fancy pink rough stone in Antwerp this fall.

The company discovered the diamond at its KAO mine in the African country on June 12, according to brokerage firm Bonas Couzyn, which will facilitate the sale.

The stone named the Rose of KAO will appear in Antwerp for viewings from September 17 to 28, and bidding in an online tender will close October 1. The auction is part of the fourth sale of KAO goods this year.

Namakwa owns and operates the KAO mine through its subsidiary, Storm Mountain Diamonds. The asset has a record of producing fancy color diamonds.

The miner recovered the 36.06 carat Pink Storm in December 2013, and sold it the following month.

Source: DCLA

Yellow diamond yielding mine back on the market

The Liquidated Ellendale mine in Western Australia, known for its fancy yellow diamonds is back on the market.

The Ellendale mine claimed to have yielded around half of the world’s supply of rare yellow diamonds during peak production.

Ellendale mine is located 120km east of Derby was also the main supplier of fancy yellow diamonds for luxury jewelry retailer Tiffany & Co.

Source: DCLA

Yellow diamond yielding mine back on the market

The Liquidated Ellendale mine in Western Australia, known for its fancy yellow diamonds is back on the market.

The Ellendale mine claimed to have yielded around half of the world’s supply of rare yellow diamonds during peak production.

Ellendale mine is located 120km east of Derby was also the main supplier of fancy yellow diamonds for luxury jewelry retailer Tiffany & Co.

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