Steven McCool of Fayetteville, Ark., found a 4.49 carat sparkling, canary yellow diamond during his recent trip to Crater of Diamonds State Park. The discovery was the third largest diamond found at the park so far this year. Photo courtesy of Arkansas State Parks
An Arkansas man visited the state’s Crater of Diamonds State Park and discovered a 4.49 carat sparkling, canary yellow diamond the third largest diamond found in the park this year.
Steven McCool, of Fayetteville, said he had decided to spend the day at the park since recent rains had made for optimal diamond hunting conditions, and he was on his 11th sifting bucket of the day when he spotted something just 30 minutes before the park closed.
“As my eyes were panning to it, I was thinking it could be an amber piece of glass like an old Coke bottle,” McCool said. “Once I focused on it though, I knew it was a diamond. I was like ‘No way! No way!'”
McCool took his discovery to the diamond identification table, where his suspicions were proved correct.
“Mr. McCool’s find is a 4.49 carat sparkling, canary yellow diamond that is about the size of a jellybean and seems to have great clarity. It is a stunning diamond,” Crater of Diamonds State Park Assistant Superintendent Meghan Moore said.
Officials said it was the third largest discovery so far this year.
McCool dubbed his discovery the BamMam Diamond, in honor of his children’s initials.
“What’s more precious than a precious gem? My children. So, I named it after my children and the name will stay with the diamond forever,” he said.
“I called my son afterward and asked him if he remembered what Thanos’ Mind Stone looked like, and told him I found one!”
Steven McCool of Fayetteville, Ark., found a 4.49 carat sparkling, canary yellow diamond during his recent trip to Crater of Diamonds State Park. The discovery was the third largest diamond found at the park so far this year. Photo courtesy of Arkansas State Parks
An Arkansas man visited the state’s Crater of Diamonds State Park and discovered a 4.49 carat sparkling, canary yellow diamond the third largest diamond found in the park this year.
Steven McCool, of Fayetteville, said he had decided to spend the day at the park since recent rains had made for optimal diamond hunting conditions, and he was on his 11th sifting bucket of the day when he spotted something just 30 minutes before the park closed.
“As my eyes were panning to it, I was thinking it could be an amber piece of glass like an old Coke bottle,” McCool said. “Once I focused on it though, I knew it was a diamond. I was like ‘No way! No way!'”
McCool took his discovery to the diamond identification table, where his suspicions were proved correct.
“Mr. McCool’s find is a 4.49 carat sparkling, canary yellow diamond that is about the size of a jellybean and seems to have great clarity. It is a stunning diamond,” Crater of Diamonds State Park Assistant Superintendent Meghan Moore said.
Officials said it was the third largest discovery so far this year.
McCool dubbed his discovery the BamMam Diamond, in honor of his children’s initials.
“What’s more precious than a precious gem? My children. So, I named it after my children and the name will stay with the diamond forever,” he said.
“I called my son afterward and asked him if he remembered what Thanos’ Mind Stone looked like, and told him I found one!”
Lucara Diamond Corp. has sold a 549 carat diamond to Louis Vuitton through a partnership that will see the luxury retailer craft bespoke pieces to match client requests.
“In line with their long tradition of personalization, Louis Vuitton envisages. the ultimate personalized high jewelry experience, and the opportunity to create a truly unique gem, a storied family heirloom,” Lucara said Wednesday. “In this way, the client will be involved in the creative process of plotting, cutting, polishing and becoming part of the story that the stone will carry with it into history.”
HB Antwerp will manufacture the stone, which is the fourth largest in the history of Botswana. Lucara will receive a purchase price based on the estimated polished outcome, which HB will determine using scanning and planning technologies. Louis Vuitton will pay the miner more at a later stage if the final polished price exceeds this estimate, while subtracting manufacturing costs, Lucara noted.
Lucara recovered the 549 carat, unbroken diamond, which is of “exceptional purity,” from the high value EM/PK(S) unit of the south lobe of its Karowe mine in February. It has named the stone Sethunya, which means flower in Setswana.
The miner sold the 1,758 carat Sewelô rough, Botswana’s largest diamond, into the partnership with Louis Vuitton and HB in January.
“We are extremely pleased to be building on the groundbreaking partnership established for the manufacturing of the Sewelô earlier this year,” said Lucara CEO Eira Thomas. “[Louis Vuitton and HB Antwerp will] transform Sethunya. into an extraordinary, bespoke, polished diamond collection, catering exclusively to the desires of Louis Vuitton’s global customer base.”
Lucara Diamond Corp. has sold a 549 carat diamond to Louis Vuitton through a partnership that will see the luxury retailer craft bespoke pieces to match client requests.
“In line with their long tradition of personalization, Louis Vuitton envisages. the ultimate personalized high jewelry experience, and the opportunity to create a truly unique gem, a storied family heirloom,” Lucara said Wednesday. “In this way, the client will be involved in the creative process of plotting, cutting, polishing and becoming part of the story that the stone will carry with it into history.”
HB Antwerp will manufacture the stone, which is the fourth largest in the history of Botswana. Lucara will receive a purchase price based on the estimated polished outcome, which HB will determine using scanning and planning technologies. Louis Vuitton will pay the miner more at a later stage if the final polished price exceeds this estimate, while subtracting manufacturing costs, Lucara noted.
Lucara recovered the 549 carat, unbroken diamond, which is of “exceptional purity,” from the high value EM/PK(S) unit of the south lobe of its Karowe mine in February. It has named the stone Sethunya, which means flower in Setswana.
The miner sold the 1,758 carat Sewelô rough, Botswana’s largest diamond, into the partnership with Louis Vuitton and HB in January.
“We are extremely pleased to be building on the groundbreaking partnership established for the manufacturing of the Sewelô earlier this year,” said Lucara CEO Eira Thomas. “[Louis Vuitton and HB Antwerp will] transform Sethunya. into an extraordinary, bespoke, polished diamond collection, catering exclusively to the desires of Louis Vuitton’s global customer base.”
Pink diamonds, already rare, are about to get scarcer as Rio Tinto has closed its iconic Argyle diamond mine, the world’s biggest and the main global source of high-quality pink diamonds.
Since opening its doors 37 years ago, the Western Australia mine produced 865 million carats of rough diamonds and became the source of about 90% of the world’s prized rose-to-magenta hued stones.
The Argyle ore body, a single pipe known as AK1, was discovered in October 1979. Alluvial operations began in 1983, open pit mining kicked off in 1985 and the mine became a fully underground operation in 2013.
Today, Rio has mined the very last of these unique diamonds from the site, located within the ancient Matsu Ranges more than 3,000 km north of Perth.
“Fifty years ago there were very few people who believed there were diamonds in Australia even fewer could have foreseen how the Argyle story would unfold,” Rio Tinto’s chief executive of Copper and Diamonds, Arnaud Soirat, said in a statement.
“To arrive at this final chapter has required vision, courage and determination to overcome significant challenges to enter new territory in diamond exploration, mining and marketing,” Soirat added.
The closure of Argyle will remove about 75% of Rio’s diamond output, yet the impact on the miner’s earnings will be negligible. Diamonds bring in only about 2% of its earnings, while iron ore the company’s main commodity accounts for almost 60%.
The operation will now undergo decommissioning and rehabilitation, which is expected to take five years. After that, Rio will monitor the site for a period yet to be defined.
End of an era
Andrew Wilson, general manager of Argyle, said the mine transformed the diamond sector since its opening, supplying gems for both ends of the market.
“A new chapter will now begin as we start the process of respectfully closing the Argyle mine and rehabilitating the land, to be handed back to its traditional custodians,” he said.
Argyle was Australia’s first large-scale diamond operation, pioneering the fly–in fly–out model, and seen as an opportunity for a workforce drawn from across the nation.
Forty years ago, in the Kimberley region of Western Australia, four diamonds in a dry creek bed ultimately led Rio’s geologists to a massive diamond deposit.
It also triggered the creation and adoption of new technology and exploration methods to make the search for diamonds more efficient across the rugged and remote Kimberley landscape.
At its peak, Argyle churned out 40% of the world’s diamond output, which made it the biggest producer by volume.
Pricy gems
Analysts and auctioneers alike expect prices for pink diamonds to go up and, potentially spur exploration.
Pink stones have already been fetching record prices in the past few years and the closure of their main source could see that trend strengthen.
The “Pink Star” went for $71.2 million at Sotheby’s Hong Kong in April 2017, setting a record for diamonds sold in auctions.
In 2018, the 18.96-carat Pink Legacy fetched $50 million at Christie’s auction house, breaking the world record for price paid per carat for a pink diamond at auction.
The Pink Legacy diamond.
At Sotheby’s Hong Kong 2019 sale, one of the star pieces described as an “exquisite 10.64 carat vivid purplish pink diamond” sold for just under $20 million.
Rio Tinto’s own data show that prices for their Argyle pink diamonds jumped by 500% from 2000 to earlier this year.
Pink diamonds, already rare, are about to get scarcer as Rio Tinto has closed its iconic Argyle diamond mine, the world’s biggest and the main global source of high-quality pink diamonds.
Since opening its doors 37 years ago, the Western Australia mine produced 865 million carats of rough diamonds and became the source of about 90% of the world’s prized rose-to-magenta hued stones.
The Argyle ore body, a single pipe known as AK1, was discovered in October 1979. Alluvial operations began in 1983, open pit mining kicked off in 1985 and the mine became a fully underground operation in 2013.
Today, Rio has mined the very last of these unique diamonds from the site, located within the ancient Matsu Ranges more than 3,000 km north of Perth.
“Fifty years ago there were very few people who believed there were diamonds in Australia even fewer could have foreseen how the Argyle story would unfold,” Rio Tinto’s chief executive of Copper and Diamonds, Arnaud Soirat, said in a statement.
“To arrive at this final chapter has required vision, courage and determination to overcome significant challenges to enter new territory in diamond exploration, mining and marketing,” Soirat added.
The closure of Argyle will remove about 75% of Rio’s diamond output, yet the impact on the miner’s earnings will be negligible. Diamonds bring in only about 2% of its earnings, while iron ore the company’s main commodity accounts for almost 60%.
The operation will now undergo decommissioning and rehabilitation, which is expected to take five years. After that, Rio will monitor the site for a period yet to be defined.
End of an era
Andrew Wilson, general manager of Argyle, said the mine transformed the diamond sector since its opening, supplying gems for both ends of the market.
“A new chapter will now begin as we start the process of respectfully closing the Argyle mine and rehabilitating the land, to be handed back to its traditional custodians,” he said.
Argyle was Australia’s first large-scale diamond operation, pioneering the fly–in fly–out model, and seen as an opportunity for a workforce drawn from across the nation.
Forty years ago, in the Kimberley region of Western Australia, four diamonds in a dry creek bed ultimately led Rio’s geologists to a massive diamond deposit.
It also triggered the creation and adoption of new technology and exploration methods to make the search for diamonds more efficient across the rugged and remote Kimberley landscape.
At its peak, Argyle churned out 40% of the world’s diamond output, which made it the biggest producer by volume.
Pricy gems
Analysts and auctioneers alike expect prices for pink diamonds to go up and, potentially spur exploration.
Pink stones have already been fetching record prices in the past few years and the closure of their main source could see that trend strengthen.
The “Pink Star” went for $71.2 million at Sotheby’s Hong Kong in April 2017, setting a record for diamonds sold in auctions.
In 2018, the 18.96-carat Pink Legacy fetched $50 million at Christie’s auction house, breaking the world record for price paid per carat for a pink diamond at auction.
The Pink Legacy diamond.
At Sotheby’s Hong Kong 2019 sale, one of the star pieces described as an “exquisite 10.64 carat vivid purplish pink diamond” sold for just under $20 million.
Rio Tinto’s own data show that prices for their Argyle pink diamonds jumped by 500% from 2000 to earlier this year.
Rio Tinto will dig the last diamonds up from the ground at its Argyle deposit in Australia on Tuesday, marking the end of an era in the industry.
The company will continue to sift through ore at the adjacent processing plant until December, and will hold the final rough sale at the end of that month, a company spokesperson said.
Rio Tinto first began operations at Argyle in 1983, with the site since becoming the world’s largest diamond mine by volume, producing more than 825 million carats of rough over its lifetime. The deposit is most famous for its colored diamonds, with more than 90% of the world’s rare pink and red diamonds originating from the mine, according to Rio Tinto.
Those pink diamonds take longer to process than general run-of-mine goods, the company noted. Rio Tinto will continue to sell them into the coming year, and will hold its final Argyle Pink Diamonds Tender in 2021.
Once Rio Tinto completes the final production from Argyle, it will undertake a decommissioning, dismantling and rehabilitation process that will last approximately five years.
