Dr M'zée Fula Ngenge: Demand for considerable-sized diamonds stronger than ever

The African Diamond Council (ADC) chairperson Dr M'zée Fula Ngenge told Rough & Polished’s Mathew Nyaungwa in an exclusive interview that although overall global diamond prices have been somewhat soft, the demand for considerable-sized diamonds...

02 september 2024

Amplats sees prospects as a standalone company

Anglo has revealed its plans to demerge Anglo American Platinum (Amplats), which has operations in South Africa and Zimbabwe, to optimise shareholder value. Rough&Polished contacted Amplats to comment on this and other issues but was referred...

19 august 2024

WFDB President Yoram Dvash Remains Confident Despite Global Diamond Challenges

Yoram Dvash is President of the World Federation of Diamond Bourses (WFDB) having been elected in 2020. He found time in his busy schedule to speak to Rough&Polished about the state of the diamond industry around the world and some of the major...

12 august 2024

Lyudmila Vysotskaya: Amber is a mystical stone, a living substance

Lyudmila Vysotskaya is a Kaliningrad-based amber artist and designer, expert, chairwoman of the Amber Academy and member of the Creative Union of Artists in Decorative and Applied Arts. This summer, visitors could admire the art works by Lyudmila Vysotskaya...

30 july 2024

De Beers shines light on budding jewellery designers

Diamond giant De Beers will this year conduct its bi-annual Shining Light Awards jewellery design competition. De Beers beneficiation manager Kagiso Fredericks told Rough & Polished's Mathew Nyaungwa in an exclusive interview they set aside 4.5 carats...

22 july 2024

The Great Scientific Expedition of Norilsk Nickel and RAS used UAVs and AI to collect data

20 february 2024

Participants of the Great Scientific Expedition of Norilsk Nickel and the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS) used latest technologies to collect and quickly analyze research data, said Olga Krever, Deputy Director of the Federal State Budgetary Institution Roszapovedtsentr, at the conference on the results of the expedition.

Among the technologies used by scientists were Orlan unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and real-time data analysis systems based on artificial intelligence (AI). With their help, the expedition members tracked, in particular, the population of polar bears and the birthplaces of their offspring on Wrangel Island and the Bear Islands.

The data obtained will form the basis of Norilsk Nickel’s corporate system for managing the impact on biodiversity, and will also be used to develop programs for its conservation and monitoring. Norilsk Nickel openly talks about new projects and changes taking place in ecosystems.

“The resulting picture of the state of the environment and biodiversity has already allowed us to adjust current environmental programs,” said Andrey Grachev, vice president for federal and regional programs at Norilsk Nickel.

“Caring for nature, reducing anthropogenic impact, and developing environmentally effective solutions are the basis of responsible business.”

Theodor Lisovoy, Editor in Chief of the European bureau, Rough&Polished