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
Made to Go Mainstream
27 june 2022
(diamonds.net) - When it comes to synthetics, the diamond industry has — to borrow a term from management consultant Geoffrey Moore — crossed the chasm. Crossing the Chasm is the 1991 book in which Moore discusses how to sell innovative high-tech products to mainstream customers. The titular chasm refers to the enormous gap between the “early adopters” and “early majority” stages of a new product’s acceptance in the market. It is the phase when a product is highly disruptive and requires behavioral changes, and it’s a point that most hyped-up technologies struggle to pass. While the lab-grown market underwent a drawn-out phase of innovation — starting when General Electric announced the first proven synthetic diamond in the early 1950s, and then its first gem-quality stone nearly 20 years later — the sector only started to make inroads in the mainstream market during the past decade. It is now arguably in the early-majority phase as more jewelry retailers, wholesalers, and diamond manufacturers enter the space. But it hasn’t been a smooth ride toward acceptance. Many in the wider jewelry industry — the “laggards,” as the graph would call them — continue to view lab-grown as a pariah. Still, attitudes have changed toward the product, which the trade considered its biggest threat not so long ago.
China backs Russia in opposing bid to redefine conflict diamonds
24 june 2022
(mining.com) - China has joined Russia in opposing an effort to redefine conflict diamonds to include those sold by individual nations, as a rift between Western and pro-Russia nations jeopardizes the process for certifying rough diamonds as conflict-free. Ukraine, Australia, Britain, Canada, the European Union, the United States and civil society groups were pushing to place Russia on the agenda at this week’s Kimberley Process (KP) meeting in Botswana and to broaden the KP’s definition, under which only gems funding rebel movements are “conflict diamonds”.
New Realities: State of the Diamond Industry
22 june 2022
(diamonds.net) - The diamond industry is undergoing fundamental disruption as political, economic and social forces break the supply chain, reduce demand, and shift consumer attitudes. We are heading into a perfect storm with new realities, challenges, and opportunities. Much of the change is external, beyond our control, sudden and shocking. Other changes have been building for a long time and are now activated due to the Russian invasion and sanctions. So much is happening at once that it is difficult to process the consequences. The situation is confusing and creating great uncertainty about the future. What will happen? What should you do?
The Man Who Keeps Talking About Russian Diamonds
20 june 2022
(jckonline.com) - Continuing my resolution to speak to more people I don’t entirely agree with, I was happy to chat at JCK Las Vegas with Tom Neys (pictured), head of media relations for the Antwerp World Diamond Centre (AWDC). Since joining the Belgian industry group in November, Neys has had the unenviable task of trying to convince the world that, post-Ukraine invasion, Belgium should keep importing Russian diamonds. (Russian gems have been excluded from European Union, though not U.S., sanctions.) I doubt our spirited conversation changed either of our minds, but his thoughts on a rating system for diamonds—reminiscent of the once-unpopular KP Plus—was intriguing. Edited highlights of our talk follow.
Q&A: Jewelers Vigilance Committee’s Sara Yood
17 june 2022
(jckonline.com) - The deputy general counsel of the Jewelers Vigilance Committee, Sara Yood, has been very busy of late, helping the industry navigate the Russian sanctions imposed by the Biden administration, which include sanctions against Russian diamonds. Below, she talks about the current state of play regarding Russian goods and what may be coming in the future.
