Diamond Manufacturers Must Brace for Automation

(diamonds.net) - Imagine the following: A diamond-mining company operating with self-driving trucks loads its haul of ore to the processing plant, where rough diamonds are separated from waste and arranged in their rough forms into different sizes before being sent for further aggregation. The goods are fed into machines that determine their color and clarity potential while also assessing where the stone fits best amid the many assortment options. The diamonds are then run through the company’s computer-based planning mechanism, which analyzes how to get the optimal polished yield. That process was presented as a real possibility in a panel discussion at the Dubai Diamond Conference in September, which revolved around the theme of “Disruption in Diamonds.”