Nick Selby will take on the role of interim CEO at Lucapa Diamond Company when Stephen Wetherall steps down as managing director at the end of the month.
Selby, who has been with the miner since 2017, is currently executive director of operations. He will lead the company while it searches for a replacement, Lucapa said Monday.
Wetherall will continue to work with Lucapa as an independent consultant following his exit, helping to further the miner’s diamond marketing and downstream initiatives. He joined the company — which operates the Lulo mine in Angola and the Mothae deposit in Lesotho — in 2016. Wetherall was instrumental in creating a manufacturing deal with Graff unit Safdico, and in Lucapa’s acquisition of the Merlin diamond project in Australia.
“I have thrived on the challenges put to me by the board and shareholders,” said Wetherall in the Monday statement. “We have together navigated the company successfully through a difficult pandemic, repaid all the project interest-bearing debt, successfully delivered and expanded two mining operations now generating solid margins, positioned the company for growth with future production from Merlin, and our kimberlite exploration program at Lulo is at an advanced and exciting phase. This is an appropriate time for me to take on other challenges.”
Lucapa has recovered a 180.87-carat Type IIa white diamond at its Lulo alluvial mine, in Angola.
It’s the second +100 carat diamond of the year so far. In February it found a 150-carat Type IIa D-color white diamond.
And it’s the 37th +100 carat since since the Australian miner began commercial production at Lulo in 2015.
Last November the 170.2-carat Lulo Rose, believed to be the largest pink diamond found in the last 300 years, was sold at tender for an undisclosed sum.
Lucapa, which also operates the Mothae mine, in Lesotho, has reported encouraging exploration results from its ongoing exploration program to discover the primary kimberlite source at Lulo.
Pic of the 180.87-carat Type IIa white diamond, courtesy Lucapa
In celebration of Haute Couture Week, Graff is exhibiting a collection of yellow diamonds at its flagship Paris boutique to complement the unveiling of its new high jewellery necklace
Launched yesterday (4 July 2023), visitors to Sunrise: A Celebration of Graff Yellow Diamonds will discover a world of rarity and lustre through a stunning showcase of high jewellery pieces featuring rare yellow diamonds, accompanied by displays detailing Graff’s storied history with these incomparable stones.
The House’s latest high jewellery creation features an extremely rare 30ct fancy intense yellow pear shape diamond, accompanied by a further 138ct of yellow and white diamonds.
Every element of the piece has been created using the stone-led design techniques for which the Graff atelier is renowned and has been crafted to emphasise the elegant silhouette of the centre stone.
Graff design director, Anne-Eva Geffroy explained: “Before we design, we study each diamond carefully to uncover the secrets that lie within its depths.
“Only then do we design, and when we do, we work to accentuate the natural beauty of each stone.
“The fancy intense yellow diamond set into this piece gives a golden sunshine glow.
“Yellow diamonds bring so much joy.
“It is an honour to be inspired by stones that radiate such beauty.
“The yellow diamonds we work with are exceptional in quality, cut, and quantity.
“Very few jewellers have the luxury of such a wide range of colour.”
In vibrant halos of yellow and white diamonds, stones radiate outwards from the central fancy intense yellow diamond to replicate the rays of the sun.
A perfect synthesis of diamond design and hand-craftsmanship, each bespoke setting has been meticulously assembled by master artisans within the House’s London workshop.
CEO of Graff, Francois Graff added: “Celebrating Graff’s legacy of innovation and leadership in presenting the highest quality rare diamonds, this will be the most significant collection of yellow diamonds that have ever been brought together in one place, including a fancy intense yellow stone of incomparable beauty.
“These are truly jewels that represent the very best of Graff.”
Further pieces on display in the showcase at the flagship Paris boutique include unique high jewellery necklaces, Tribal-inspired jewels, earrings, and single-stone rings that unmistakably express Graff’s design DNA through the combination of superb stones with bold designs and unparalleled craftsmanship.
An impressive roster of important and famous yellow diamonds have passed through the House over the course of its history, beginning with the Star of Bombay in 1974.
The Star of Bombay is an historical yellow stone that was re-cut and polished by Graff using revolutionary expertise and new techniques.
Since then, Graff has introduced many famous and historical yellow diamonds over the years, including the 118.08ct Delaire Sunrise and the 132.55ct honey-hued Golden Empress.
Sunrise: A Celebration of Graff Yellow Diamonds is currently exhibiting at Graff Rue Saint-Honoré throughout Haute Couture Week in Paris.
ASX-listed Lucapa Diamond Company has fully repaid all interest-bearing loans that it borrowed from gold exploration and mining company Equigold and the Industrial Development Corporation of South Africa (IDC).
Lucapa has repaid the final instalment of $1.3-million in principal and interest on the original $15-million Equigold debt, which was raised in 2018.
In addition, Lucapa subsidiary Mothae Diamonds recently made its final interest payment of R7.3-million to the IDC, with the IDC loan now also fully repaid.
Lucapa is now interest-bearing debt free, having repaid about A$30-million in debt and interest over an 18-month period
The company said in a July 4 statement that it would seek to have all securities with respect to those loans released.
Lucapa owns the Lulo mine, in Angola, and the Mothae mine, in Lesotho, and is developing the Merlin project, in Australia. It also explores for diamonds in Australia, Angola, Botswana and Lesotho.
A Cartier diamond ring is set to lead the upcoming Bonhams jewelry sale in California, where it is expected to bring in up to $100,000.
The center stone is a rectangular step-cut, 3.89-carat, H-color, VS2-clarity diamond flanked by tapered baguette emeralds. It’s the star of the July 18 California Jewels auction, Bonhams said Monday.
“The lots offered highlight craftsmanship from leading names in jewelry that will entice…aficionados and collectors everywhere,” noted Emily Waterfall, director of the jewelry department at Bonhams in Los Angeles.
The auction will feature a ring bearing an emerald-cut, 9.70-carat, fancy-intense-yellow, VS2-clarity diamond with an upper estimate of $90,000. A second ring, with a round brilliant-cut, 4.12-carat, F-color, VS2-clarity diamond, is expected to fetch up to $70,000.
Meanwhile, a platinum, diamond and sapphire Art Deco bracelet with a presale estimate of $20,000 to $30,000 will be on offer, as will a gold Mario Buccellati bracelet with a high price tag of $20,000. That piece is set with oval sapphire cabochons weighing a total of 4.50 carats, surrounded by rose-cut diamonds and accented by round diamonds weighing about 1.60 carats.
Jewels by well-known designers, including David Webb, Piaget, Tiffany & Co., and Van Cleef & Arpels, will also go under the hammer.
Botswana has reached an eleventh-hour deal with diamond giant De Beers after months of tense negotiations that saw the continent’s top producer threatening to cut ties with the storied company.
The Botswana government and Anglo-American, the majority owner of De Beers, have reached an “agreement in principle”, the two sides said in a statement issued late Friday.
The agreement provides for a new 10-year agreement to sell the rough diamonds produced by Debswana — a joint venture equally owned by the government and De Beers — and a 25-year extension of its mining licenses.
The agreement also gives Botswana an increased 30 percent of diamond production for sale via the state-owned Okavango Diamond Company, progressively increasing to 50 percent in the final year of the contract, De Beers said in a separate statement on Saturday.
No value was given for the agreement.
The previous 2011 sale agreement between the southern African country, one of the continent’s richest, and the world’s largest diamond company by value, was extended exceptionally until June 30, 2023, due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Under terms negotiated by the two sides in 2011, De Beers received 90 percent of the rough diamonds mined, while Botswana had 10 percent to sell itself.
In 2020, Botswana’s share was hiked to 25 percent.
President Mokgweetsi Masisi had threatened to cut ties with the company if the latest talks proved unfavourable for his country.
“If we don’t achieve a win-win situation each party will have to pack its bags and go,” he said in February.
The country turned up the heat the following month by announcing it would soon conclude an agreement to take a 24 percent stake in the Belgian diamond manufacturer HB Antwerp.
Last year, De Beers obtained about 70 percent of its rough diamonds from Botswana.
Diamond mining accounts for a third of the landlocked country’s GDP.
The US Department of the Treasury has issued sanctions against four companies and an individual in the gold and diamond industries that have provided funding to Russian military organization Wagner Group.
The Central African Republic (CAR), United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Russia-based entities have “engaged in illicit gold dealings” to help Wagner “sustain and expand” its army in Ukraine and Africa, the government office said Tuesday.
“Treasury’s sanctions disrupt key actors in the Wagner Group’s financial network and international structure,” explained Brian Nelson, under secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence. “The Wagner Group funds its brutal operations in part by exploiting natural resources in countries like CAR and Mali.”
The targets include:
Midas Ressources, which holds the rights to the Ndassima gold mine in CAR, and Diamville, a gold and diamond purchasing company that participated in a gold scheme and the shipment of diamonds mined in the African country to help fund Wagner activities. Dubai-based industrial goods distributor Industrial Resources General Trading, which provided support to Wagner leader Yevgeniy Prigozhin by purchasing the diamonds sold by Diamville in exchange for cash to support the military group. Limited Liability Company DM (OOO DM), a Russia-based firm accused of participating in a gold-selling scheme with Diamville. Andrey Ivanov, an executive in the Wagner Group who facilitated weapons deals and mining operations with the government of Mali. The announcement follows Wagner’s attempted rebellion against the Russian government last week. Prigozhin called off the mutiny and went into exile in Belarus.
The sanctions are the latest round against the Wagner Group, which the US has labeled a “significant transnational criminal organization.” Australia, Canada, Japan, the UK and the European Union have also sanctioned the military entity.
