London-listed Petra Diamonds is making funding arrangements to go ahead with the construction of a R1.65-billion processing plant at its Cullinan diamond mine, near Pretoria. Read on page 12 of this edition of Mining Weekly of the company’s plans to raise capital, settle debt and give itself more financial headroom. Petra’s lender banking group is boosting debt facilities while the company pursues a $300- million notes issue to provide financial flexibility for growth. The existing Cullinan plant, which was commissioned in 1947, is based on old crushing technology that does not offer optimal diamond recovery potential. On the drawing board is a modern processing plant that is expected to improve the recovery of a fuller spectrum of diamonds and lower operating costs. The autogenous mill incorporated in the plans will better protect the mine’s large, high-value stones. In the meantime, X-ray fluorescence technology will replace the conventional dense-media separation plants to allow the old plant to treat coarser material over 12 mm in diameter.

The presidents of the World Federation of Diamond Bourses are preparing for one of the most important diamond industry gatherings ever held. In light of the current shortage of industry financing, declining profitability and the issue of undisclosed synthetic diamonds, every effort is expected to be made in Tel Aviv from June 14 to 16 to determine the magnitude of the vexing problem of synthetic diamond nondisclosure and whether identification of such stones is sufficiently successful. Against this background, Debswana security head Mpho Kewakae said at Fleming Gulf’s 2015 African Mine Security Summit, in Johannesburg, that the value of diamonds depends on people’s perception of their worth. Read on page 17 of this edition of Mining Weekly of his opinion that a premium should be placed on the potential reputational risks that could befall the diamond sector. Kewakae revealed that Debswana itself is nearing the end of a technological upgrade of closed-circuit television systems across all its operations. Although Mining Weekly reported in January that Debswana had planned to install X-ray scanners at four of its diamond mines in Botswana, Kewakae disclosed that the company was still awaiting approval from the Department of Environmental Affairs of Botswana to use the machines at its mining sites, where there is stiff opposition from the Botswana Mine Workers Union over health concerns. To watch a video on Kewakae, scan the barcode at the foot of the article with your phone’s QR reader, or go to Video Reports on www.miningweekly.com.

Information technology (IT) consultancy Wipro Africa says on page 18 of this edition of Mining Weekly that transformation is needed within IT functionality if mining companies are to remain competitive in this digital age. The company contends that tighter integration between the various systems is now available to create new automation opportunities with rules-based engines that allow for easier operational scale-up. Once business processes have been centralised and automated, visual representation is then available to graphically illustrate even the innermost workings of mines and their plants and offer significant cost-lowering advantages.