Exclusive
Diamond market crash is Africa’s opportunity, not its crisis – M'zée Fula Ngenge
Global natural diamond supply is forecast to fall below 95 million carats this year, the lowest since 1987. For Dr. M'zée Fula Ngenge, chairperson of the African Diamond Council (ADC), this is not a death knell but a clarion call. In an exclusive...
Today
Tracr passes 5 million rough diamonds milestone as De Beers expands provenance push
De Beers Group's blockchain-enabled traceability platform Tracr reached a significant milestone in 2025, with more than 5 million rough diamonds individually scanned and registered, up from 2.8 million cumulative registrations reported in 2024. The...
28 september 2026
South African diamonds head to Hong Kong: SDT partners with BRINKS for JGW 2026
South Africa’s State Diamond Trader (SDT) has confirmed the country's participation in Jewellery & Gem World Hong Kong (JGW) 2026 through a partnership with BRINKS. SDT marketing and communication manager Tsholofelo Gopolang Tselapedi...
14 september 2026
David Benderly: PermaScribe seeks to put trust mark on diamond table, not just girdle
In this interview with Rough & Polished’s Mathew Nyaungwa, PhotoScribe Technologies president and chief executive David Benderly explains how PermaScribe differs technically from conventional laser inscription, its potential to strengthen security, and...
31 august 2026
The great reset: Paul Zimnisky on supply catharsis, De Beers' bargain and the case for natural diamonds
The natural diamond industry is in the throes of its most profound reset in a generation. Supply is plunging to its lowest level since 1987 and De Beers—once valued at over $9 billion—is reportedly being sold for as little as $1 billion.
Lab-grown...
10 august 2026
Are diamonds forever? Leading diamond producing countries and their prospects
29 june 2026
According to the Kimberley Process, global diamond production in 2024 amounted to 107.9 mn carats, down 4% compared to the previous year and down 39% from the peak year of 2005. Meanwhile, the diamond industry’s mineral reserves are entering a challenging period as most of the primary deposits active today were discovered in the last century, easily accessible diamond reserves are nearing depletion, and mining operations are going deeper underground, becoming labor-and cost-intensive. There are virtually no new major diamond discoveries capable of replacing the depleted deposits, the only significant exception being the Luele project in Angola. On top of all of this, the diamond price decline from 2023 to 2026 exacerbated by competition from synthetic diamonds has revealed the vulnerability of even the largest diamond producers. Below is an overview of the state of the diamond industry’s mineral reserves and prospects for the leading diamond-producing countries.
The ‘copper paradox’ is still a long way off from its resolution
22 june 2026
In 2026, the mining industry that has just recently assessed the impact of disruptions at Grasberg and Kaoma-Kakula mines, faces a new challenge. Copper producers using sulfuric acid to extract metal from ore have faced a sharp rise in sulfur prices and a shortage of this reagent due to shipping disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz. Chile, the global leading copper producer and home to key copper assets owned by big miners, is also experiencing sulfur availability problems due to the export restrictions imposed by China. Sulfuric acid is used to produce about 20% of copper in the world (by a hydrometallurgical leaching method, SX-EW technology).
New Era for De Beers as it Slashes Sightholder Numbers Again
15 june 2026
Visiting the De Beers HQ in Charterhouse Street in London some two decades ago, it was difficult not to be swept along by the obvious power and control of the global diamond trade that the mining giant enjoyed at the time. Even the fact that the decor, in the giant offices, was so clearly from another era lent a further strengthening to the grip of power the firm exercised.
Clouds are gathering over Canada’s ‘diamond sky’
08 june 2026
Canada’s diamond industry is one of the youngest in this sector. Point Lake, the first commercial kimberlite pipe located in the Lac de Gras region of the Northwest Territories, was discovered in 1991 by geologists Charles Fipke and Stewart Blusson. This discovery sparked the largest mining ‘rush’ since the Yukon gold-rush era: by the mid-1990s, licenses for tens of millions of hectares of land had been issued in the province. Canada’s first diamond mine, Ekati, was commissioned in 1998, just seven years after the discovery of the diamond-bearing province; this is exceptionally fast for the mining industry.
Do UK Advertising Body’s Recent LGD Rulings Point To A Wider Problem?
01 june 2026
A recent ruling by the UK Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) against two jewelry companies over advertisements promoting synthetic diamonds without clearly identifying them as such has raised concerns the phenomenon may be more widespread. The issue of clearly identifying non-natural stones in order to ensure that consumers are fully aware of what they are being offered for purchase has been a concern for the non-Lab Grown Diamond (LGD) sector for the past decade.
Platinum cements its role as ‘industrial gold’
26 may 2026
The supply and demand trajectories for platinum have been stable for quite a long time. Demand for platinum remains relatively stable, as declining consumption in internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles is offset by growing demand from various industrial applications and the jewelry sector, as well as by investors’ appetite for the metal. Platinum supply is slowly declining (global supply has fallen by 9 percent since 2016, according to Metals Focus) as the metal mining in South Africa was not sufficiently financed during a period of low prices - it faced persistent operational challenges and resource depletion, while recycling has regularly stayed below expectations.
When the tail wags the dog
18 may 2026
When the author of this article took an interest in collecting aesthetically pleasing minerals early in life, owning a diamond in a collection was like finding a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. Not because diamonds were too costly, but because the Soviet government prohibited citizens from owning precious stones not studded in a jewelry item. Decades have passed, but this ban remains in effect in modern Russia, with the exception of being able to own loose polished diamonds as an individual. The youthful dream of having a rough diamond in my collection was based on a simple understanding that a diamond ranks at the very top of the gemstone hierarchy, so how could I have no diamonds in my collection?
Diamonds Under Fire: How the Middle East Conflict Impacted Global Trade
11 may 2026
With the global diamond trade being dependent on stable international supply chains, the recent conflict in the region, and the ongoing uncertainty, has created serious challenges for the trade. Attacks by Iran on Israel and the United Arab Emirates – globally important diamond hubs – has disrupted these key trading centers and shaken the finely-tuned logistics networks that move goods around the region and the wider world.
Where the Western rare earth industry is headed without China’s raw materials
04 may 2026
In November 2025, China suspended some of the restrictions on exports of rare-earth elements (REEs, also called rare-earth metals, or rare earths) imposed in October and began granting the first ‘general licenses’ in December - individually, to specific foreign buyers. The easing of restrictions is valid until November 2026, so the pause is more likely to give some time to market players than to resolve the problem itself. The global race for rare earth metals continues, with the United States and the European Union remaining the main participants implementing projects both within their own territories and abroad. Let’s assess how far they have progressed in moving away from their dependence upon China.
Uncertainty Takes Over the Diamond Industry
27 april 2026
Some 17 years ago, in the aftermath of the financial crisis of late 2008 and in the ensuing recession in the United States and across Europe, as well as other parts of the globe, I had an idea for an article. I would base it on what was becoming known as the “new normal”. The financial situation had become very precarious following the enormous hits that the western economies had taken. It seemed that everything we knew about global finances was changing by the day.
