Exclusive
Helga Pombal: Angola's Stardiam finds solution to the threat posed by lab-grown diamonds
Stardiam manager of production Helga Pombal told Rough&Polished's Mathew Nyaungwa on the sidelines of the Angola International Diamond Conference that lab-grown diamonds are creating a parallel market for more accessible stones, combined with lower...
11 november 2024
Ellah Muchemwa: ADPA to launch Africa's first diamond mining standard next year
The African Diamond Producers Association (ADPA), which is based in Luanda, Angola, and represents the interests of mainly African diamond producers and those with the potential to produce diamonds, will next year launch the Sustainable Development...
04 november 2024
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
Mountain Province Diamonds announces full year 2020 production results
18 january 2021
Mountain Province Diamonds Inc. announced full year production and sales results from the Gahcho Kué Diamond Mine.
De Beers to drop some of its long-term rough buyers
18 january 2021
De Beers has reportedly dropped some of its long-term diamond buyers in a bid to supply stones to buyers who can add the most value to the rough stones. Bloomberg quoted unnamed sources as saying that De Beers had told some of its customers known as sightholders that they will lose their right to buy rough diamonds.
Signet Jewelers reports strong fiscal 2021 Holiday Season sales
18 january 2021
Signet Jewelers Limited, the world's largest retailer of diamond jewelry announced its preliminary sales for the 9 weeks ended (Holiday Season) January 2, 2021.
Gem Diamonds' Letšeng mine to remain fully operational despite new Covid-19 lockdown
15 january 2021
Gem Diamonds says its Letšeng mine in Lesotho will remain fully operational following the announcement of new Covid-19 lockdown restrictions. It said in a brief statement that Letšeng would continue to implement measures for the regular testing and protection of all of its mining staff and contractors as required by law.
Petra investors approve plans to restructure business
15 january 2021
Troubled Petra Diamonds says its investors have ratified plans to restructure the business in a bid to ensure short and long-term viability. It said more than 95% of shareholders backed a resolution that includes reducing authorised share capital of the company by cutting the nominal value of all ordinary shares from 10p to 0.001p.
Russian diamonds enjoy success in Dubai
15 january 2021
Russia-based diamond miner ALROSA held an auction in Dubai last December putting on the block diamonds of special sizes (weighing 10.8 carats and above). According to the company, this auction netted $ 7.4 million.
Lucapa temporarily mothballs Mothae after COVID-19 lockdown
15 january 2021
Lucapa Diamond has temporarily suspended mining operations at the Mothae kimberlite mine, in Lesotho with appropriate care and maintenance, and security measures. This comes after the government of Lesotho introduced a new 14-day nation-wide lockdown due to a surge in COVID-19 cases.
Myanmar and Malaysia to work with GIT for increasing coloured gems market
15 january 2021
Jewelry entrepreneurs from Myanmar and Malaysia have expressed their trust in the expertise of The Gem and Jewelry Institute of Thailand (GIT) in raising the standards of gems and jewelry laboratories, developing personnel, and its aim at driving growth of coloured gemstones market in the region.
Debswana cancels $1.3bn contract to extend Jwaneng lifespan
14 january 2021
Debswana Mining Company, which is owned by De Beers and the Botswana government, has cancelled $1.3 billion contract with a unit of Australia's Thiess to extend the lifespan of its Jwaneng diamond mine, according to news reports.
ALROSA figures on stable demand and sales during first quarter 2021
14 january 2021
Yesterday, the company released preliminary results on rough and polished sales for December and 12 months of 2020, saying that totally it netted $521.6 million last month, including proceeds from rough diamond sales of $470.3 million, and polished diamond sales of $51.2 million.
