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

Gaetano Cavalieri: CIBJO leading the jewelry industry on critical issues

One of the gem and jewellery industry’s most well-known and respected personalities, Dr. Gaetano Cavalieri, has been the president of the World Jewellery Confederation (CIBJO), for the past 23 years. CIBJO is the oldest international organisation...

09 december 2024

DRC surpasses Peru to become the world’s second-largest copper producer

26 march 2024

The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) surpassed Peru to become the world's second-largest copper producer in 2023, according to media reports.

However, Reuters reports that official data from both nations indicate that it still falls behind Peru in terms of exports.

Last year, Peru managed to export a staggering 2.95 million tonnes of the metal, surpassing its annual production.

Chile continues to hold its position as the leading producer of the red metal.

The Central Bank of the Congo reported last year that the country produced about 2.84 million tonnes of copper.

Peru's output reached 2.76 million tonnes, according to the country’s mining and energy ministry.

The decline in mining investment in Peru has been attributed to bureaucratic hurdles, recent political unrest, and demonstrations.

Peru's minister of energy and mines, Rómulo Mucho, recently expressed optimism about the future of copper production, projecting an increase to 3 million tonnes by 2024.

Major mining firms, such as Freeport-McMoRan, MMG Ltd, BHP, Glencore, Teck Resources, Mitsubishi, and Southern Copper of Grupo México, have established their presence in Peru's Andes.

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