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...

12 october 2026

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

Helium production to begin in the Mirny district of Yakutia

22 june 2023

The Mirny district of Yakutia will see the construction of the first natural gas to helium conversion plant. The agreement to carry out the project was signed by three participants at the Saint-Petersburg International Economic Forum.

The plant that will produce helium from natural gas will be located on the territory of the Srednebotuobinskoye oil and gas condensate field and will take advantage of natural gas produced by JSC ALROSA-Gaz, a subsidiary of ALROSA diamond company. The start of helium production is scheduled for 2025, reaching the design capacity in 2028. The planned volume of helium production is up to 4 million cubic meters per year. The resulting product will be sold on the domestic market and in neighboring countries.

“Helium is in great demand in modern industry, it is used for medical equipment, defense products, computing and measuring equipment, in the space industry, aviation, shipbuilding and many others. Therefore, there is no doubt that the start of its production in Yakutia is the beginning of a new, highly efficient project of the 21st century economy. Helium production will bring additional taxes to the republican budget and will provide new jobs. Its environmental value ensures the preservation of the natural resources of the republic", said the Head of Yakutia Aisen Nikolaev.