Edahn Golan: India’s lab-grown diamond exports surpass natural diamonds by volume, yet value gap widens

India’s diamond industry has reached a historic turning point. In March and April 2026, the volume of lab‑grown diamond exports overtook that of natural diamonds, with lab‑grown stones accounting for 51% and 50.4% of total export volume respectively...

01 june 2026

Dr M’zée Fula-Ngenge: Kimberley Process failing Africa

The Kimberley Process (KP) is failing Africa, and the world's definition of a “conflict diamond” is a moral and legal absurdity, according to the African Diamond Council (ADC) chairperson M’zée Fula-Ngenge. The following exclusive...

18 may 2026

How much CO2 is in a Pandora lab-grown diamond? 12.58 kg per carat

Pandora’s cradle-to‑gate carbon footprint study of its lab‑grown diamonds, verified by EY (formely Ernst & Young) under limited assurance, finds that one polished carat carries a footprint of 12.58 kg CO2 equivalent (e). The growing stage...

11 may 2026

Antwerp diamond trade volumes jump 20% in Q1 2026 as structural measures take hold

The Antwerp World Diamond Centre (AWDC) reported a nearly 20% increase in total diamond trading volume for the first quarter of 2026, driven by a 35.7% surge in rough diamond imports.

27 april 2026

‘AI is the engine, diamonds are preserved upside down, copper currently the path to value’ – Botswana Minerals’ Campbell on strategy shift

Botswana Minerals has positioned itself as a data-led, multi-commodity explorer, placing copper at the centre of its growth strategy while retaining diamond assets for future upside, Managing Director James Campbell has told Rough & Polished. In an exclusive...

13 april 2026

Copper 360 completes transformative recapitalisation, reduces debt by 63% as concentrate production rises 44%

02 june 2026

Copper 360 has reported a transformative financial year ended 28 February 2026, successfully concluding a recapitalisation in December 2025 that extinguished R715 million ($44.1 million) of legacy debt and raised R400 million ($24.7 million) in fresh equity, fundamentally reshaping the group’s balance sheet.

Total borrowings were reduced by 63% to R304 million ($18.7 million) from peak levels of R824 million ($50.8 million) prior to recapitalisation.

The company reported revenue of R143 million ($8.8 million), unchanged from the prior year, with a gross loss of R157 million ($9.7 million).

Operating loss decreased by 42% to R213 million ($13.1 million), while loss after tax fell 17% to R265 million ($16.3 million).

Post year‑end, Copper 360 completed an operational restructure, simplifying its mining strategy, selectively outsourcing specialist functions, and rightsizing the organisation. The debt‑to‑equity ratio improved to 0.40 from 2.92, and the current ratio to 1.36 from 0.36.

No dividend was declared as the company focuses cash resources on the development of the Rietberg Mine.

Meanwhile, the company said copper metal equivalent production remained broadly flat at 1,067 tonnes, while concentrate copper production increased by 44% to 1,067 tonnes, with plant recovery improving to 71.8% in the second half of the financial year.

Mathew Nyaungwa, Editor-In-Chief, Rough & Polished