News
India tightens standards for gold
India’s new "Good Delivery Gold" standard system establishes requirements for responsible sourcing and traceability. The Gem and Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) has called for the swift adoption and international recognition of these standards...
Today
Orion Minerals secures $40m Glencore financing for Prieska mine development
Orion Minerals has secured $40 million in Tranche A financing from Glencore for its flagship Prieska Copper Zinc Mine in South Africa's Northern Cape, after the funding became unconditional following the execution of final concentrate offtake and intercreditor...
Today
De Beers' Q3 output falls 11%, assumes full ownership of Gahcho Kue
Anglo American has reported an 11% decrease in De Beers’ rough diamond production for the third quarter of 2026, down to 6.8 million carats compared to 7.7 million carats in the same period last year.
Today
Critical Metals gets formal approval for Tanbreez rare earth mine from Greenland authorities
US-based Critical Metals Corp. has announced that its flagship Tanbreez rare earth project has received formal mining plan and closure plan approvals from the government of Greenland, paving the way for a 24-year mine life.
Today
Kyrgyzstan begun construction of a $556 million gold mining complex
The project is being implemented by Chaarat ZAAV, a joint venture between Canada’s Silvercorp Metals (70 %) and the state owned Kyrgyzaltyn (30 %). According to Silvercorp Metals’ calculations, once it reaches its design capacity, the enterprise will...
Yesterday
Philippe Mellier’s route to the top at De Beers
07 december 2015
(Financial Times) - When De Beers was looking for a new chief executive in 2011, the most obvious qualification that Philippe Mellier had for the job was probably “outsider”. The world’s best-known diamond miner wanted to bring in a leader with a fresh perspective to prepare it for a new era. In Mellier — with 30 years in cars, trucks and trains behind him — the headhunters certainly found one. The 60-year-old Frenchman, then working at French industrial group Alstom, recalls plenty of industry scepticism about whether someone with no experience of diamonds or mining could sparkle in the role. Four years later, he has gone through big changes — including De Beers’ ultimate ownership — and has embraced the mystique of the world’s most coveted gemstones.
Volume Reduction or a Price Reduction, To Be or Not to Be
04 december 2015
(ehudlaniado.com) - There are some that would claim that the key step to solving the current crisis in the diamond industry is to drastically reduce the price of rough diamonds, specifically by the main diamond producers. This is the last thing the mid-sector of the diamond industry needs. Such a move will push more companies into bankruptcy, more money will be lost and more private and bank capital will be obliterated. As any person that has ever generated and increased capital knows, this is a slow and painstaking process. Nobody in their right mind will erase their capital like that.
Historic Diamonds Put Lucara in Enviable Spotlight
03 december 2015
(Rapaport) - Lucara Diamond Corporation President and CEO William Lamb faces a dilemma many mining executives would envy. After all, when the second- and sixth-largest diamonds in history are discovered in the same week at your sole mining operation, it changes how your company is perceived, and even how it sells. Lamb stresses that these diamonds are about a lot more than monetary value for both Botswana and Lucara. Instead, they have they have the potential to reaffirm Botswana’s status as the most important diamond mining - and de-facto trading – center.
This is the Regal Imports News for November 2015
02 december 2015
(regalimportsltd.com) - The news from the cutting centres is depressing. Cutters are really suffering and, so much so, that they have had to revolt against the diamond miners. Polished diamond demand is still slow and polished prices are not recovering. De Beers has made some stupid mistakes; one in particular was giving a few companies discounts of 30 to 40 percent on 10 carat plus diamonds in order that they purchase a larger share of their regular allotment. This took place during the October site and in so doing; De Beers discounted sites to a few special customers and undermined their own system by creating two tiers of clients. This mistake back fired with regular clients losing confidence and banks becoming nervous about financing a system that allows for hidden discounts.
Drastic Rough Diamond Price Cuts Will Result In Billion-Dollar Losses
01 december 2015
(gemkonnect.com) - There’s absolutely no argument that rough diamond prices are much too high today. Manufacturers are having an extremely difficult time selling the polished coming out of this rough as buyers are simply unwilling to pay more. That this is mainly because diamond miners have only looked at their own bottom lines and ignored the warning signs in the production pipeline is also an uncontested fact. That this has considerably weakened and destabilised the diamond production pipeline is also undeniable. However, calling for an immediate reduction of between 30- and 50 percent in rough prices is a hasty, unthought-out and counterproductive step.
