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Dmitry Fedorov: I want our jewelry to be displayed at a museum in the future
Dmitry Fedorov is the founder of the eponymous jewelry house. His main focus is the creation of Orthodox-inspired premium luxury jewelry of high artistic merit. He told Rough&Polished about his journey in the jewelry industry, about choosing the ‘Orthodox...
28 october 2024
Responsible business practices ‘no longer optional’, says WDC President Feriel Zerouki
The president of the World Diamond Council takes time out of her busy schedule to tell Rough&Polished readers about the critical work of the WDC. Zerouki, the first female present of the body, which includes all the important industry organizations among...
14 october 2024
James Campbell: Botswana Diamonds optimistic as it enters uncharted territory of using AI for mineral exploration
London-listed Botswana Diamonds has expressed optimism about the company’s use of artificial intelligence (AI) to scan the exploration database in Botswana to look for new mineralised deposits. Company managing director James Campbell told Rough...
07 october 2024
Artur Salyakayev: For me, happiness is freedom to make my ideas happen and create valuable products
Artur Salyakayev is an art entrepreneur, founder of the International Jewelry Academy (IJA) and the INCRUA jewelry company. He has initiated and developed successful projects in jewelry industry and services sector. He is also a leading expert...
30 september 2024
Paul Zimnisky: China key for sustained recovery in demand for natural diamonds, prices
The curtailing of upstream and midstream natural diamond production in the past months is starting to have an effect on prices, according to the New-York-based independent diamond and jewellery analyst and consultant, Paul Zimnisky. He told Rough & Polished’s...
23 september 2024
IDC agrees to fund 43.75% of pre-development costs at SA’s Okiep Mining – Orion
Upon becoming a shareholder, IDC will advance its pro rata share of the R79 million total budgeted pre-development operating costs of New Okiep Mining Company (NOM), with Orion having already advanced its entire pro rata share of ZAR 44.5 million to NOM, which represents a 56.25% stake.
“With Orion already, representing 56.25% pro-rata portion of the total pre-development budget, the IDC has now agreed on the key commercial terms on which it will fund the balance of the budget to complete feasibility studies by June 2023,” said Orion chief executive Errol Smart.
“Having also received the long-awaited grant of the mining right to the core area, we are finally able to complete the required drilling and metallurgical sampling to finalise the optimisation of the feasibility studies which are already well advanced.”
He said the future ownership of NOM puts the project on a very solid footing for the near-term development of what they expect to be a brownfields copper mining project.
A 2021 scoping study into the project estimated that the 780 000 tonnes per year operation could have a mine life of nearly 12 years, producing 386 000 tonnes per year of copper concentrate.
Mathew Nyaungwa, Editor in Chief of the African Bureau, Rough&Polished