Tshepo Molusi: South Africa establishes dedicated diamond retail shop in China

T3 Diamonds founder Tshepo Molusi told Rough & Polished’s Mathew Nyaungwa at the inaugural South Africa Diamond Show in Cape Town that the shop opened an opportunity for diamond manufacturers under the incubation to export their products to China. He...

17 february 2025

Nosiphiwo Mzamo: South Africa’s State Diamond Trader to buy diamonds from other African countries

South Africa’s State Diamond Trader (SDT) is set to buy diamonds from other African countries starting with Botswana. SDT’s chief executive Nosiphiwo Mzamo told Rough & Polished’s Mathew Nyaungwa at the country’s inaugural diamond show, which...

10 february 2025

Edahn Golan: Halo effect from lab-grown diamonds driving high demand for large, 2-carat natural stones in the U.S.

Edahn Golan, owner of the eponymous Edahn Golan Diamond Research and Data, told Rough & Polished's Mathew Nyaungwa in an exclusive interview that their research found a halo effect from lab-grown diamonds. He said the trend among lab-grown diamond...

27 january 2025

Paul Zimnisky: We will see a modest recovery in natural diamond demand and prices in 2025

According to Paul Zimnisky, an independent diamond and jewellery analyst and consultant based in the New York metro area, the natural diamond industry will see a modest recovery in demand and prices this year. Zimnisky said a moderate recovery would...

13 january 2025

African Diamond Council makes traceability its top priority, wants KP to embrace Authentia.io

The African Diamond Council (ADC) has made traceability its foremost priority and has been contributing to a traceability solution called Authentia.io for the last three and a half years, which is now ready to globally satisfy the traceability...

16 december 2024

Barrick to start first production at Lumwana copper mine in 2028

26 january 2024

Barrick has accelerated the Lumwana copper mine’s super pit expansion project with the first production now scheduled for 2028.

Barrick president and chief executive Mark Bristow advised Zambian president Hakainde Hichilema at their meeting that the project will transform Lumwana into one of the world’s major copper mines, with a projected annual production of around 240,000 tonnes per year over a 30-year plus life.

The estimated cost of the project is almost $2 billion and construction is scheduled to start towards the end of this year.

Lumwana, the once struggling mine, has been restructured and re-engineered into a significant contributor to Barrick’s expanding copper portfolio. 

The ramp-up of the reopened Malundwe pit and completion of the transition to owner mining supported the achievement of its production guidance for 2023.

“We are in discussion with the Ministry of Green Economy and Environment to facilitate the required licensing and our partnership with local government,” said Bristow.

Mathew Nyaungwa, Editor in Chief of the African Bureau, Rough&Polished