News
Tharisa meets FY2026 guidance, Karo Platinum fully funded as net debt swings to $51m
Tharisa has reported full-year production in line with guidance for both platinum group metals (PGMs) and chrome concentrates, while confirming its Karo Platinum project in Zimbabwe is now fully funded following a $300 million bond issue.
Yesterday
Israel’s diamond sector poised for revival following tax reforms and De Beers comeback
De Beers, one of the world's major diamond market players, has announced the resumption of its operations in Israel after a nine-year absence, which became the latest sign of revival of the diamond industry in the country.
Yesterday
Kefi Gold and Copper restarts Tulu Kapi development after safety review
Kefi Gold and Copper has resumed development at its Tulu Kapi gold project in Ethiopia following a suspension that began on September 7 after a serious safety incident three days earlier.
Yesterday
Nornickel implements smart melt monitoring system
Norilsk Nickel has installed a smart melt monitoring system at its metallurgical plant in Norilsk in collaboration with Reksoft. The system uses computer vision to assist the converter operator in identifying phases during the tapping process.
Yesterday
ALROSA to help amplify Arctic agenda at UN
In preparation for the 31st UN Climate Change Conference (COP31), ALROSA experts and other stakeholders from Russia discussed a unified approach to strengthening the country’s position and the Arctic agenda at UN climate conferences.
Yesterday
Transnet to unlock 800kt/y in chrome ore exports after signing rail deal with Mozambique
08 july 2022
(miningmx.com) - Transnet, South Africa’s government-owned freight and logistics utility, unveiled a major unlock of rail capacity that will enable the country’s chrome industry to export an additional 800,000 tons in metal a year. This will be achieved following an agreement with Mozambique’s rail authority CFM enabling trains to run uninterrupted from Belfast in South Africa’s Mpumalanga province to Maputo port. The new model will see consignments of 50 chrome and ferrochrome wagon loads hauled by two diesel locomotives from Belfast to Maputo using a single crew. This compares to the current model in which five crews are employed to account for multiple locomotive changes.
Dyukarev: Norilsk Nickel's approaches in the field of interaction with indigenous peoples are the best in the country
06 july 2022
The role of business in the life of indigenous peoples as well as ways of interaction between large companies and local ethnic groups were discussed as part of the final stage of the All-Russian competitive educational program «Indigenous Minorities of Russia. School of Public Diplomacy». Vasily Zakharov, Head of Regional Programs at Norilsk Nickel, held a meeting with the finalists of the All-Russian Competitive Educational Program “Indigenous Minorities of Russia. School of Public Diplomacy". He talked about the active economic activity of the mining and metallurgical companies in the places of traditional settlements of indigenous peoples and spoke about the successful completion of the unique FPIC procedure in Taimyr.
United States, G-7 Ban Russian Gold—With Provisos
04 july 2022
(jckonline.com) - On Sunday, President Joseph R. Biden, along with the other members of the Group of Seven (G-7), announced a collective ban on the import of Russian gold at the 48th annual G-7 summit in Schloss Elmau, Germany. Russia is generally considered the world’s second largest gold producer. The G-7 consists of the United States, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, and the United Kingdom. On Tuesday, the U.S. Treasury prohibited the import of Russian Federation–origin gold into the United States “with immediate effect,” unless licensed or otherwise authorized by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). The edict specifically excludes Russian gold that was purchased prior to Tuesday. As with diamonds, gold that is “substantially transformed” in another country is currently exempt from the export ban.
Lab Grown: All Fears Materialized
01 july 2022
(edahngolan.com) - In 2018, De Beers launched Lightbox Jewelry, a lab-grown-set jewelry collection with an unstated primary goal of disrupting the lab-grown market through devaluation and separation. Divide and conquer is an age-old battle strategy, but in this case, it didn’t work as well as hoped for. Surprisingly, not only is the natural diamond industry seeing its fears materialize. So also is the lab-grown industry. Following is the sum of all their fears.
The Economics of Lab-Grown
29 june 2022
(diamonds.net) - On the surface, the price of lab-grown has fallen sharply in recent years. In 2021, the average retail price of a polished synthetic diamond was only 30% of the equivalent natural stone, down from 35% in 2020, according to Bain & Company’s latest annual report on the diamond sector. At the wholesale level, prices have slid to 14% of their natural counterparts, compared with 20% in 2020, the consulting firm estimates. Jeweler Zulu Ghevriya confirms that today’s prices are lower than they were two years ago. The cofounder of New York-based brand Smiling Rocks, which specializes in synthetic-diamond jewelry, says he buys lab-grown at about an 85% to 90% discount to the Rapaport Price List for natural diamonds.
But while some lab-grown categories have plummeted in value, others are more stable or even increasing. Those with downward trends are seeing the declines flatten, and the prices that consumers pay are, by and large, holding up. “The lab-grown diamond industry is performing at its own pace,” says Ghevriya. “I think [as] the industry [becomes more] mature, the prices are [stabilizing] in every sector, from small to big sizes.” Generally speaking, the market is splitting into high-quality and lower-end goods. And these two distinct markets have very different selling structures that affect the way their pricing works.
