Monday 28 October 2019

The Diamond Journey



The Diamond Journey



Botswana Diamonds receives mining permit for Marsfontein


Botswana Diamonds associate Vutomi Mining has secured a mining permit for the diamond bearing gravels and residual unprocessed stockpiles around the Marsfontein mine.
The Marsfontein diamond mine is located in Limpopo, South Africa.
Last month, Botswana Diamonds and Vutomi signed an agreement with Eurafrican Diamond Corporation to mine and process the identified deposits on the Marsfontein project.
EDC has started site establishment, while the commissioning is expected to begin within the next two weeks, thereby ramping up production.
Proceeds from Marsfontein will be used to fund ongoing exploration work in Botswana and South Africa.
Botswana Diamonds chairman John Teeling said: “I am delighted that the Marsfontein Mining Permit has been granted and that site establishment has already commenced.
“I look forward to updating shareholders as the company progresses towards being a diamond producer.”
The Marsfontein mine comprises a kimberlite blow development and the mine’s run of mine grade was 172cpht, at a bottom cut off of +1.2mm.
Marsfontein’s assortment was known to host fancy coloured diamonds.
Evaluation on the gravels and residual stockpiles in and around the mine, conducted at the time of mining, indicated them to be diamondiferous. These deposits were overlooked after the closure of the mine.
BOD, which has a 15% interest in Vutomi, entered an option and earn-in agreement with the latter in 2017 to explore its prospecting rights covering 50,000ha of prospective ground in the Limpopo, North-West and Free State Provinces of South Africa.
Last month, Vutomi secured environmental authorisation over part of the residual diamond-bearing gravels produced from the Marsfontein mine.
In June, Vutomi received approval to sell diamonds recovered during a bulk sampling programme at the Thorny River project.
Source: DCLA

Botswana Diamonds receives mining permit for Marsfontein


Botswana Diamonds associate Vutomi Mining has secured a mining permit for the diamond bearing gravels and residual unprocessed stockpiles around the Marsfontein mine.
The Marsfontein diamond mine is located in Limpopo, South Africa.
Last month, Botswana Diamonds and Vutomi signed an agreement with Eurafrican Diamond Corporation to mine and process the identified deposits on the Marsfontein project.
EDC has started site establishment, while the commissioning is expected to begin within the next two weeks, thereby ramping up production.
Proceeds from Marsfontein will be used to fund ongoing exploration work in Botswana and South Africa.
Botswana Diamonds chairman John Teeling said: “I am delighted that the Marsfontein Mining Permit has been granted and that site establishment has already commenced.
“I look forward to updating shareholders as the company progresses towards being a diamond producer.”
The Marsfontein mine comprises a kimberlite blow development and the mine’s run of mine grade was 172cpht, at a bottom cut off of +1.2mm.
Marsfontein’s assortment was known to host fancy coloured diamonds.
Evaluation on the gravels and residual stockpiles in and around the mine, conducted at the time of mining, indicated them to be diamondiferous. These deposits were overlooked after the closure of the mine.
BOD, which has a 15% interest in Vutomi, entered an option and earn-in agreement with the latter in 2017 to explore its prospecting rights covering 50,000ha of prospective ground in the Limpopo, North-West and Free State Provinces of South Africa.
Last month, Vutomi secured environmental authorisation over part of the residual diamond-bearing gravels produced from the Marsfontein mine.
In June, Vutomi received approval to sell diamonds recovered during a bulk sampling programme at the Thorny River project.
Source: DCLA

De Beers banks on ‘diamonds are for me’


Anglo American unit De Beers said its 2019 marketing budget will exceed last year’s figure of $170 million and will focus on the biggest market the United States, where women lavishing diamonds on themselves has boosted sales.
While U.S. demand has held firm, the diamond market has weakened elsewhere and trade tensions and protests in Hong Kong have dented sales in China, the second largest diamond market.
But luxury groups see potential for growth in jewelry demand, as shown by LVMH’s nearly $14.5 billion offer, made public on Monday, to buy Tiffany & Co.
Esther Oberbeck, group head of strategy at De Beers, the world’s biggest diamond producer by value, said in an interview the company was about to launch new marketing campaigns, focused on the U.S. and China.
She did not specify the budget, but said De Beers’ 2019 spend would exceed last year’s $170 million and was the highest in more than a decade.
The campaigns, which she said would concentrate on “self-purchase and the bridal market”, are based on research carried out for De Beers, published on Monday.
It found the share of U.S. women buying their own engagement ring doubled from 7% to 14% over the five-year period 2013-2017 and that women on average spent a third more than men – $4,400 compared with $3,300.
De Beers sells rough diamonds and jewelry through its Forevermark brand.
Its research anticipates the rough diamond market will recover from a period of oversupply as some mines reach their end of their lives, notably Rio Tinto’s Argyle mine in Australia.
Global consumer demand for diamonds rose by 2% in 2018 to $76 billion and, in dollar terms, China and the United States were the fastest-growing regions, both increasing by 5% year on year, it said.
Demand for diamond jewelry in the U.S. rose by 5% to $36 billion, representing just under half of total global diamond jewelry demand, underpinned by “solid macro-economic factors”, the De Beers research found.
Diamonds are still the leading choice for engagement rings, whether between same sex or heterosexual couples.
But demand for diamond jewelry as a gift to mark all kinds of special occasions, including rewards to oneself, now outweighs demand directly related to weddings, De Beers said.
Source: DCLA

De Beers banks on ‘diamonds are for me’


Anglo American unit De Beers said its 2019 marketing budget will exceed last year’s figure of $170 million and will focus on the biggest market the United States, where women lavishing diamonds on themselves has boosted sales.
While U.S. demand has held firm, the diamond market has weakened elsewhere and trade tensions and protests in Hong Kong have dented sales in China, the second largest diamond market.
But luxury groups see potential for growth in jewelry demand, as shown by LVMH’s nearly $14.5 billion offer, made public on Monday, to buy Tiffany & Co.
Esther Oberbeck, group head of strategy at De Beers, the world’s biggest diamond producer by value, said in an interview the company was about to launch new marketing campaigns, focused on the U.S. and China.
She did not specify the budget, but said De Beers’ 2019 spend would exceed last year’s $170 million and was the highest in more than a decade.
The campaigns, which she said would concentrate on “self-purchase and the bridal market”, are based on research carried out for De Beers, published on Monday.
It found the share of U.S. women buying their own engagement ring doubled from 7% to 14% over the five-year period 2013-2017 and that women on average spent a third more than men – $4,400 compared with $3,300.
De Beers sells rough diamonds and jewelry through its Forevermark brand.
Its research anticipates the rough diamond market will recover from a period of oversupply as some mines reach their end of their lives, notably Rio Tinto’s Argyle mine in Australia.
Global consumer demand for diamonds rose by 2% in 2018 to $76 billion and, in dollar terms, China and the United States were the fastest-growing regions, both increasing by 5% year on year, it said.
Demand for diamond jewelry in the U.S. rose by 5% to $36 billion, representing just under half of total global diamond jewelry demand, underpinned by “solid macro-economic factors”, the De Beers research found.
Diamonds are still the leading choice for engagement rings, whether between same sex or heterosexual couples.
But demand for diamond jewelry as a gift to mark all kinds of special occasions, including rewards to oneself, now outweighs demand directly related to weddings, De Beers said.
Source: DCLA

Sunday 27 October 2019

Alrosa finds diamond over 230 carats, largest in three years


The world’s top diamond producer by output, Alrosa , has unearthed a unique rough diamond weighing over 232 carats, the largest gem-quality specimen found in more than three years.
THE GEM nQUALITY OCTAHEDRON WAS FOUND AT THE UDACNHAYA KIMBERLITE, IN THE YAKUTIA REGION OF SIBERIA
Alrosa 232 carat rough diamond at yakutia
Alrosa 232 carat rough diamond at yakutia
The diamond, dug up at the Udacnhaya kimberlite pipe on October 19, is an octahedron of yellowish hue with several chips. Its dimensions are 40х39х23 mm.
“Such large gem-quality crystals are extremely rare,” deputy chief executive, Evgeny Agureev, said in the statement. “We have not seen them since 2016, when two diamonds weighing over 200 carats were mined.”
Discovered in 1955, the Udachnaya kimberlite pipe is one of the largest primary diamond deposits in the Yakutia region of Siberia and globally. Its diamond output reached 2.385 million carats in the first nine months of 2019.
Alrosa produced more than 43 million carats of diamonds in 2018 from its Russian mines, or about 27% of the world’s total. That’s 18% more than its closest competitor, Anglo American’s De Beers.
Alrosa finds diamond over 230 carats, largest in three years
Source: DCLA

Petra Sales Up, Prices Down

Petra Diamonds Operations Petra Diamonds reported increased sales for FY 2024, despite weak market conditions. The UK based miner said it ha...