Tara Jewels Files for Chapter 11

Tara Jewels LLC and parent company Tara Jewels Holdings have filed for bankruptcy, each listing between $10 million and $50 million in outstanding liabilities.

Wholesaler Tara Jewels LLC currently claims to have between $500,000 and $1 million in assets, according to the June 21 Chapter 11 filing in the Southern District of New York. The parent company reported up to $50,000 in assets. Both firms are owned by the India-headquartered Tara Jewels Ltd, which has a chain of retail stores in its home country.

The supplier, which focuses on loose diamonds, gemstones and branded jewelry, began its wholesale operation in 2006, when it partnered with M. Fabrikant & Sons. Shortly thereafter, the company, renamed as Fabrikant-Tara, filed for protection in a US bankruptcy court. It also sought protection in 2008, according to the filings.

In November 2018, a Mumbai court initiated insolvency proceedings against Tara Jewels Ltd on behalf of creditors.

Tara’s customers include Zale Corp, Walmart, J.C. Penney, Sterling Jewelers and Signet, its website notes. It has also co-branded a bridal and fashion jewelry line with fashion designer Zac Posen. In 2012, the company received an investment from Swarovski subsidiary Crystalon Finanz.

Tara Jewels is the second notable jewelry company to enter bankruptcy proceedings in New York this week. Enchanted Diamonds filed for Chapter 7 liquidation in the same court on June 20, claiming liabilities of $1.7 million.

Source: diamonds.net

Tara Jewels Files for Chapter 11

Tara Jewels LLC and parent company Tara Jewels Holdings have filed for bankruptcy, each listing between $10 million and $50 million in outstanding liabilities.

Wholesaler Tara Jewels LLC currently claims to have between $500,000 and $1 million in assets, according to the June 21 Chapter 11 filing in the Southern District of New York. The parent company reported up to $50,000 in assets. Both firms are owned by the India-headquartered Tara Jewels Ltd, which has a chain of retail stores in its home country.

The supplier, which focuses on loose diamonds, gemstones and branded jewelry, began its wholesale operation in 2006, when it partnered with M. Fabrikant & Sons. Shortly thereafter, the company, renamed as Fabrikant-Tara, filed for protection in a US bankruptcy court. It also sought protection in 2008, according to the filings.

In November 2018, a Mumbai court initiated insolvency proceedings against Tara Jewels Ltd on behalf of creditors.

Tara’s customers include Zale Corp, Walmart, J.C. Penney, Sterling Jewelers and Signet, its website notes. It has also co-branded a bridal and fashion jewelry line with fashion designer Zac Posen. In 2012, the company received an investment from Swarovski subsidiary Crystalon Finanz.

Tara Jewels is the second notable jewelry company to enter bankruptcy proceedings in New York this week. Enchanted Diamonds filed for Chapter 7 liquidation in the same court on June 20, claiming liabilities of $1.7 million.

Source: diamonds.net

Gem Diamonds Unearths 135ct. Yellow

Gem Diamonds has recovered a 135 carat yellow at its Letšeng mine in Lesotho, the third significant colored-diamond discovery at the deposit this year.

The company retrieved the high quality, type I stone on June 21, three months after the mine yielded a similar quality yellow diamond weighing 134 carats. Those discoveries follow a two year gap in the recovery of yellow diamonds weighing more than 100 carats from Letšeng. In June 2017, the miner found a 151.52 carat yellow.

Source: DCLA

Gem Diamonds Unearths 135ct. Yellow

Gem Diamonds has recovered a 135 carat yellow at its Letšeng mine in Lesotho, the third significant colored-diamond discovery at the deposit this year.

The company retrieved the high quality, type I stone on June 21, three months after the mine yielded a similar quality yellow diamond weighing 134 carats. Those discoveries follow a two year gap in the recovery of yellow diamonds weighing more than 100 carats from Letšeng. In June 2017, the miner found a 151.52 carat yellow.

Source: DCLA

De Beers Cuts Prices as Rough Sales Slide

De Beers’ rough-diamond sales slumped to a 20-month low of $390 million in June amid weak sentiment in the manufacturing sector. Sightholders noted the price cuts De Beers implemented on certain categories were not enough to stimulate demand.

“The reaction to the price adjustments was lukewarm,” observed one Antwerp-based manufacturer who attended last week’s sale in Gaborone. “It’s a case of too little, too late, as polished prices have declined and we’re not seeing the same movement in the rough market.”

De Beers reduced prices by an estimated 4% to 8% on low-quality and smaller stones, sight participants reported. Sightholders who spoke with Rapaport News expected the company would need to make further cuts later this year, but recognized it was unlikely to do so at the next sight.

“We don’t expect a correction in July because that will start a downward spiral,” said one India-based sightholder. “But people will refuse goods. The mood is not good, even after this month’s reduction, as manufacturers are under pressure.”

High inventory

De Beers CEO Bruce Cleaver noted that rough buyers were cautious in June due to higher-than-normal polished-diamond inventories in the midstream. The sight was the lowest on record by De Beers since October 2017, and sales were down 33% compared to last June.

Manufacturers have cut production by an estimated 20% to 30% this year to reduce those inflated inventory levels, sightholders estimated. They’ve also shifted their production to lower-value goods to keep workers busy at a minimal investment, one India-based sightholder added.

As a result, De Beers’ sales declined 18% to $2.38 billion in the first half of 2019, while Alrosa’s rough sales fell 35% to $1.46 billion in the first five months of the year, according to Rapaport calculations.

Midstream pressure

Meanwhile, Cleaver also noted the challenging environment in China was affecting sentiment in the diamond market, while the US retail environment remained solid. Polished trading at the Hong Kong Jewellery & Gem Fair, which ended Sunday, was quiet, dealers noted. Attendance was down amid the mass protests that have taken place in the city during June, but also because Chinese buyers are not looking to make large purchases.

“People are hesitant to buy in a downward-trending market because they don’t yet see a bottom,” explained one Hong Kong-based polished dealer. “The mood is not good.”

US orders are more consistent, observed a Mumbai-based sightholder. US retailers are not making major orders, but he expects that will start to happen in the next month or two. Diamond trading generally remains quiet in July, when most US wholesalers close for the summer vacation.

“We expect the market will stabilize in late July,” he said. “But the problem isn’t from the retail side. It’s the business-to-business (B2B) trading that is low and the manufacturing sector that is under pressure. People don’t want to do business in the rough market.”

Source: DCLA

De Beers Cuts Prices as Rough Sales Slide

De Beers’ rough-diamond sales slumped to a 20-month low of $390 million in June amid weak sentiment in the manufacturing sector. Sightholders noted the price cuts De Beers implemented on certain categories were not enough to stimulate demand.

“The reaction to the price adjustments was lukewarm,” observed one Antwerp-based manufacturer who attended last week’s sale in Gaborone. “It’s a case of too little, too late, as polished prices have declined and we’re not seeing the same movement in the rough market.”

De Beers reduced prices by an estimated 4% to 8% on low-quality and smaller stones, sight participants reported. Sightholders who spoke with Rapaport News expected the company would need to make further cuts later this year, but recognized it was unlikely to do so at the next sight.

“We don’t expect a correction in July because that will start a downward spiral,” said one India-based sightholder. “But people will refuse goods. The mood is not good, even after this month’s reduction, as manufacturers are under pressure.”

High inventory

De Beers CEO Bruce Cleaver noted that rough buyers were cautious in June due to higher-than-normal polished-diamond inventories in the midstream. The sight was the lowest on record by De Beers since October 2017, and sales were down 33% compared to last June.

Manufacturers have cut production by an estimated 20% to 30% this year to reduce those inflated inventory levels, sightholders estimated. They’ve also shifted their production to lower-value goods to keep workers busy at a minimal investment, one India-based sightholder added.

As a result, De Beers’ sales declined 18% to $2.38 billion in the first half of 2019, while Alrosa’s rough sales fell 35% to $1.46 billion in the first five months of the year, according to Rapaport calculations.

Midstream pressure

Meanwhile, Cleaver also noted the challenging environment in China was affecting sentiment in the diamond market, while the US retail environment remained solid. Polished trading at the Hong Kong Jewellery & Gem Fair, which ended Sunday, was quiet, dealers noted. Attendance was down amid the mass protests that have taken place in the city during June, but also because Chinese buyers are not looking to make large purchases.

“People are hesitant to buy in a downward-trending market because they don’t yet see a bottom,” explained one Hong Kong-based polished dealer. “The mood is not good.”

US orders are more consistent, observed a Mumbai-based sightholder. US retailers are not making major orders, but he expects that will start to happen in the next month or two. Diamond trading generally remains quiet in July, when most US wholesalers close for the summer vacation.

“We expect the market will stabilize in late July,” he said. “But the problem isn’t from the retail side. It’s the business-to-business (B2B) trading that is low and the manufacturing sector that is under pressure. People don’t want to do business in the rough market.”

Source: DCLA

Gem Diamonds finally sells its failed Botswana mine

The miner has sold Ghaghoo for a fraction of what it cost to build as it fails yet again to diversify away from its Letšeng mine in Lesotho

Gem Diamonds has sold its Ghaghoo operation for a fraction of what it cost to build what was Botswana’s first underground diamond mine, as it failed yet again to diversify away from its Letšeng mine in Lesotho.

Gem Diamonds agreed to sell its failed Ghaghoo mine in Botswana to Pro Civil, a local company, for $5.4m USD.

London-listed Gem, which has had a string of setbacks in attempting to diversify its portfolio away from being a single-asset company with its Letšeng mine in Lesotho, invested about $90m in building the first phase of Ghaghoo.

In March 2017, Gem reported a $170m impairment against Ghaghoo after mothballing the mine in the Central Kalahari Game Reserve in February, as low prices for smaller rough diamonds pushed the operation into a loss.

There was no information about the Pro Civil business in the Gem statement on Thursday, and internet searches proved fruitless. No indication was given about what Pro Civil intended doing with Ghaghoo once the deal closes in the third quarter of 2019.

Gem said it had reached a binding agreement with Pro Civil for the sale of the London-listed company’s wholly owned subsidiary Gem Diamonds Botswana for an upfront payment of $5.4m.

“On behalf of Gem, we wish the Pro Civil team well for the future, and I would also like to thank the government of Botswana for its assistance during the sale process,” said Gem CEO Clifford Elphick.

The Botswana subsidiary reported a pretax loss of $4.9m in the year to end-December 2018 and gross assets of $3.9m.

Ghaghoo, when it was officially opened in September 2014, had expected to sell its diamonds for about $260/carat, but by 2017 it was realising prices of nearly half that number.

Ghaghoo, the first underground diamond mine in Botswana, was a difficult mine to build. A decline shaft was sunk through an 80m-thick layer of loose Kalahari Desert sand in a remote location in the north of the country.

Part of the reason to go underground, instead of building an opencast mine, was to reduce the size of the mining footprint in the game reserve to 20km² instead of 100km².

The mining project started in October 2011 and did not come close to reaching commercial production of 150,000 carats a year.

Gem’s attempts to extend operations beyond its Letšeng mine in Lesotho have been unsuccessful — the Ellendale mine in Australia was sold for $15m in 2012 and the Cempaka alluvial mine in Indonesia was closed in 2008.

Exploration efforts in Angola and elsewhere in Africa came to naught.

Gem would now focus on improving Letšeng, said Elphick, adding the $5.4m would be put towards “general corporate purposes”.

“Every little bit will help,” said Shore Capital analyst Yuen Low, pointing out that large-diamond recoveries at Letšeng had been poor recently.

“In the first half of 2019, Gem recovered only two stone greater than 100 carats (versus 10 in first half 2018), continuing the falling trend that became evident in the second half of 2018,” he said.

Letšeng is the world’s richest diamond mine when measured by dollars achieved per carat, consistently delivering large, high-quality diamonds.

Source: bdfm.co.za