News
Lundin achieves record quarterly gold output at its flagship Ecuador mine
Vancouver-based Lundin Gold has reported that in the third quarter of 2026, gold production at its Fruta del Norte mine in southeast Ecuador hit a new quarterly record.
Today
Richemont, Signet in talks to join De Beers consortium – report
Luxury group Richemont and US retailer Signet Jewelers are in advanced talks to join the Global Diamond Consortium (GDC) bidding for De Beers, according to five people familiar with the matter, Bloomberg reports.
16 october 2026
Rio Tinto begins Q4 of 2026 with strong operational performance
The Anglo-Australian mining group Rio Tinto has reported its third-quarter 2026 results, highlighting strong operational performance.
16 october 2026
Silver market deficit to widen in 2026 - report
In the latest World Silver Survey prepared by the Silver Institute and Metals Focus, the global silver market deficit is forecast to widen for the sixth consecutive year to 46.3 million ounces.
16 october 2026
Tharisa signs PGM offtake deal with Valterra Platinum, expands chrome collaboration
South Africa’s Tharisa has entered a binding arrangement for the sale of PGM concentrate to Rustenburg Platinum Mines, a subsidiary of Valterra Platinum, effective 1 January 2027.
16 october 2026
Diamond Intelligence Briefing: U.S. a "Transfer-Pricing Paradise" for Rough Diamonds
23 september 2016
In the latest installment of the Diamond Intelligence Briefing (DIB), diamond industry analyst Chaim Even-Zohar presents a searing indictment of the rough diamond trade in the United States, "The world's most convenient and 'uncontrolled' rough transfer market", claiming that, "The main justification for the overwhelming bulk of the (U.S.) rough trade is pure transfer pricing*." This rough diamond 'stopover' in the U.S. also "endangers the integrity of the legitimate U.S. diamond trade - which is mainly polished and diamond jewelry." Furthermore, Even-Zohar claims that NGO watchdogs turn a blind eye to the United States in this regard, while the Kimberley Process (KP) administration is well aware of it - and has been for a long time - while U.S. governmental KP officials "seem to quietly condone it".
* To clarify, transfer pricing is "the biggest tax avoidance scheme of all", according to The Guardian's 2009 series "The Tax Gap": "The name of the game is to shift profits to low tax jurisdictions and avoid taxes in countries where corporations have substantial trading operations." This works in two ways when it comes to diamonds: 1) Assume $100,000 worth of rough diamonds are imported from an associated party overseas. The importer shifts $50,000 of the value to an offshore account, and re-exports the diamonds to a legitimate diamond manufacturing country for $50,000. Official U.S. figures presented in the DIB provide ample evidence of this gross undervaluation of rough diamond exports from 2003-2011. Such figures would only be justifiable if the U.S. was a significant diamond manufacturer, which it is not: 2) Assume $100,000 worth of rough diamonds are imported, representing the price paid to the source. Once inside a tax-free trade zone, these diamonds are revalued to match the market price, and re-exported for $150,000, making the importer/exporter a handsome profit. DIB demonstrated this 'overvaluation' process taking place in the U.S. in the years 2012-2015, but in this case, it was a matter of low-quality/low-price industrial diamonds somehow being "reborn" as gem-quality diamonds.
Richemont, Hermès Slump as Gloom Deepens in Luxury Industry
22 september 2016
(businessoffashion.com) - Richemont, the maker of Cartier jewellery, said first-half operating profit will probably decline about 45 percent, while Hermès International SCA abandoned its annual sales growth target, adding to the gloom spreading across the luxury-goods industry. Revenue slid 13 percent excluding currency shifts in the five months through August, Geneva-based Richemont said, missing the median analyst estimate for an 11 percent decline. Hermès said it’s no longer forecasting annual revenue growth of about 8 percent excluding currency shifts, and instead has “an ambitious goal” for growth. Hermès giving up on the forecast is a “negative read-across for the whole soft luxury industry, fueling concerns about the sector’s long-term growth potential,” Zuzanna Pusz, an analyst at Berenberg, said in a note. Hermès shares fell as much as 5.7 percent in Paris, even as first-half profit beat estimates. Richemont dropped as much as 4.3 percent in Zurich.
Now anybody can scuba dive for diamonds
21 september 2016
(Business Standard) - Wynand Hendrikse is a diamond diver. For 20 years, he's spent his days sailing off the western coast of South Africa, exploring a private offshore concession an hour south of the Namibia border. His office is on a boat, and his uniform is a wetsuit and fins; his mission is to scan the shallow sea floor for precious minerals. Almost every day he spends on the water, he hauls up a pile of diamonds, which he then turns into bespoke pieces at his Stellenbosch design studio. His clients, he says, include sports stars and actors, but he rebuffs you if you ask for their names. In other words, his life doesn't suck.
Going for Lead
20 september 2016
(polishedprices.com) - At a recent meeting to celebrate a chum of mine’s 1000th birthday, I met with a few similar dinosaurs and the one thing we could agree on was that nothing had really changed in the diamond industry during our involvement. Yes, there have been the most extraordinary advances in the cutting of diamonds, but in the basic structure of the business absolutely zero. This ever kicking the can down the road is seriously risking the industry’s longevity. The very underlying strength and attractions of diamonds as a consumer product has allowed a state of stupor to overcome the industry. The first half year has been much stronger than I thought it would be in rough, in polished it has been about as disappointing as predicted. I find it difficult to believe that the second half will see any improvement in polished and presumably rough will have to take up some of the effects of this weakness, compounded to by the ever growing problem of liquidity.
Diamond Producers Association CEO Lieberherr Talks "Real is Rare" in Run-Up To Launch
19 september 2016
(thediamondloupe.com) - Jean-Marc Lieberherr is CEO of the Diamond Producers Association, formed in May 2015 by seven of the world’s leading diamond companies to maintain and enhance consumer demand for, and confidence in diamonds. Lieberherr joined Rio Tinto’s diamond business in 2005, "a life-changing move", he tells us. With the official launch of DPA's "Real is Rare. Real is a Diamond." campaign to take place in early October, Lieberherr lays out his vision of the DPA and responds to some questions on key issues in the diamond industry.
