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...
Yesterday
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
Second-tier companies: Lucara Diamond Corporation, a rising star in global diamond mining
24 august 2020
Lucara Diamond Corporation is one of the newly established and rapidly growing diamond mining companies. The company owns 60% of the AK6 kimberlite project at the Karowe mine in Botswana developed by its wholly owned Boteti Mining Limited.
Platinum looks to the hydrogen future - 2
17 august 2020
The demand for the PGM is decreasing due to the limited sales of new vehicles caused by the increased average length of vehicle ownership (a similar phenomenon was observed during the 2008 financial crisis), says Nornickel. In the first quarter of 2020, the global car production and sales fell by 25% and 20%, respectively, compared to the last year figures. The demand for platinum fell by 17% year-on-year in January-March to 634,000 oz as the plant closures due to COVID-19 made the car output plummet, while uncertainty over the future and caution in spending contributed to an unprecedented drop in sales. Johnson Matthey explains that the temporary closures of automakers will hit the production in the first half of the year, and the consumers’ appetite for high-end purchases is likely to remain low in the rest of the year.
Player No. 3
10 august 2020
The current man-made global crisis has all the chances to dramatically change the landscape of the global diamond industry. I am not saying that the habits of the world’s richest people in the way they consume luxury goods will change greatly (there will be changes, but evolutionary, not revolutionary - this class will never refuse to buy diamonds, LVMH products or airplanes and yachts), I just want to draw your attention to businesses engaged in diamond mining.
Platinum looks to the hydrogen future - 1
03 august 2020
The platinum investment portfolio lacks a strong technology push like the one experienced by palladium in 2015 due to ‘Dieselgate’. The scandal that revealed that gasoline engines were more environmentally friendly than diesel ones*, undermined the platinum's position in the automotive industry and laid the basis for a palladium rally. As a result, the palladium prices exceeded the price of platinum in mid-2017, and the gap has widened since then. Platinum is now at the last year’s level, which may be not so bad for most commodities given the current crisis this year but worse than gold (+24%), palladium (+24%), and rhodium (+29%).
Diamond industry of Angola
27 july 2020
Diamond mining in Angola dates back to 1917 when a consortium of Belgian, English and Portuguese investors established Companhia de Diamantes de Angola, or Diamang. In 1961, a civil war broke out in Angola against the Portuguese colonialism. In 1975, Angola gained independence. In 1981, ENDIAMA, Angola's state-owned diamond company, was set up based in Luanda, the capital of Angola. In 2002, Angola joined the Kimberley Process Certification System. At the end of July 2020, the annual report for 2019 was released.
ALROSA: crisis and diversification
20 july 2020
The diamond industry has already suffered heavy losses due to the pandemic. In fact, today rough diamond sales are suspended globally, and so far, the time limits for this pause are unclear. The possible ‘second wave’ of COVID-19 threatens with new losses, which may result in aggressive measures to save the diamond mining companies, the most capital-intensive part of the ‘diamond pipeline’. Against this background, the old discussion about the diversification of ALROSA’s products is particularly urgent, which, from the point of view of some participants, can be considered as a real anti-crisis measure to hedge the risks due to the current problems facing the rough and polished diamond industry.
Is the end in sight for Sights?
13 july 2020
With all the changes occurring in the diamond supply pipeline, the big miners may consider the ways they sell their rough to the downstream market.
The state and utilization of rough diamonds in the Russian Federation
06 july 2020
The Russian Federation has the world's largest diamond resource base - the gemstone reserves in the country's interior are nearly 1,135 mn carats. In addition, Russia accounts for huge impact diamond reserves in the amount of 268 bn carats. Russia is a world leader in the production of rough diamonds: in 2018, 43.2 mn carats worth $3,983 mn were recovered in the country.
Diamond production in Russia and Yakutia in 2008-2019
29 june 2020
Given the slowdown in rough diamond production of mining companies across the world caused by the coronavirus pandemic, it seems interesting to see how diamond mining has developed over the past decade.
CATOCA. The Sirens of Angola
22 june 2020
Like the sweet-voiced Sirens, Angola has been attracting diamond seekers for over 100 years. But be vigilant, sailor - do not let yourself be deceived by the enchanting singing of winged nymphs. The amazing creations of the ancient Greek genius would have certainly found what to do in this African country if they had the pleasure of visiting the Sociedade Mineira de CATOCA (CATOCA Mining Society).
