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Diamonds News
Petra narrows full-year loss, but curtailed demand cuts earnings by nearly 60% 
By: Marleny Arnoldi 17th November 2020 London-listed Petra Diamonds has posted a net loss of $223-million for the financial year ended June 30 – an improvement on the net loss after tax of $258-million reported for the 2019 financial year. The loss included a non-cash impairment charge of $91.9-million, whereas the loss for 2019 had... →
Dominion recalls 60 workers to prepare for Ekati restart
By: Mariaan Webb 16th November 2020 The Ekati diamond mine, in Northwest Territories, is being prepared for a restart, with 60 furloughed employees to be recalled with effect from early December. Owner Dominion Diamond says it is recalling employees in anticipation of an agreement to restructure its debt and to fund the company.... →

Botswana Diamonds gets go-ahead to finalise Sekaka Diamonds buyout
By: Tasneem Bulbulia 16th November 2020 Dual-listed Botswana Diamonds has announced that all conditions precedent for the acquisition of Sekaka Diamonds have been satisfied. The transaction, first announced in July, has been approved by Petra’s lenders and noteholders, as well as by the Botswana Minister of Mineral Resources, Green... →
Petra acknowledges Raid human rights abuse claims report, takes interim remedial action 
By: Marleny Arnoldi 13th November 2020 London-listed Petra Diamonds has acknowledged a report published by UK-based corporate watchdog Raid that identifies a number of alleged human rights abuses relating to security operations at the Williamson mine, in Tanzania. Petra has committed to investigate these claims and plans to appoint a... →

Williamson to remain on care and maintenance
13th November 2020 Diamond miner Petra Diamond’s Tanzania-based Williamson mine has been on care and maintenance since mid-April, with only essential services being carried out in order to protect the mine’s assets and resources. The original decision was announced in the Market Update on April 9, 2020, when the... →
Mining output down 2.8% y/y in September
By: Creamer Media Reporter 12th November 2020 South Africa's mining production decreased by 2.8% year-on-year in September, with the iron-ore sector having made the largest negative contribution and diamonds the largest positive contribution. Seasonally adjusted mining production decreased by 0.3% month-on-month in September. →
Lucara says diamond market stabilising; recovers 998 ct diamond from Karowe
By: Marleny Arnoldi 11th November 2020 Toronto- and London-listed Lucara Diamond Corporation, which has reported a strong third-quarter performance, has recovered a 998 ct high white clivage diamond from its wholly-owned Karowe diamond mine, in Botswana. The diamond was recovered after primary crushing of ore that was sourced from a... →

De Beers partners with Redpath to boost underground mechanised mining skills at Venetia
By: Tasneem Bulbulia 10th November 2020 Diamond miner De Beers Group has entered into a mining service agreement with Redpath Australia and Redpath Mining South Africa, following a rigorous selection process with internationally recognised underground contract mining companies. De Beers says the awarding of the contract to Redpath is... →
Botswana Diamonds identifies focus areas at Marsfontein, Thorny River
By: Donna Slater 9th November 2020 Aim- and BSE-listed diamond explorer Botswana Diamonds' exploration programme has identified several kimberlite targets at its Marsfontien and Thorny River projects in South Africa. To build on the exploration programme, the company plans to start drilling, through a multihole programme, at the... →
Debswana to close diamond mine on weak demand - union leader
By: Reuters 6th November 2020 Debswana Mining Company, equally owned by De Beers and the Botswana government, will close a diamond mine in the country as weak demand and trading disruption from the pandemic make the mining of lower value diamonds unviable, a union leader told Reuters on Friday. Debswana, among the world's... →
Lucapa approves Mothae expansion
By: Esmarie Iannucci 6th November 2020 Diamond miner Lucapa Diamonds will undertake a A$10-million capital raise to fund an expansion of the company’s Mothae kimberlite mine, in Lesotho. Lucapa MD and CEO Stephen Wetherall on Friday told delegates at the Africa Downunder Conference, in Perth, that the expansion plan for Mothae would... →

Lucara, Louis Vuitton, HB Antwerk ink collaboration agreement for ‘Sethunya’ diamond
By: Simone Liedtke 5th November 2020 Canadian diamond miner Lucara Diamonds, luxury goods house Louis Vuitton and European diamond manufacturing and technology company HB Antwerp, have entered into an agreement to collaborate on the planning, cutting and polishing of a 549 ct white gem diamond. The white gem diamond, referred to as... →
Mountain Province enters final quarter with ‘cautious level of confidence’
By: Mariaan Webb 5th November 2020 The rough diamond market is starting to show some positive momentum, with prices having recovered close to pre-Covid levels from the lows seen during the peak of the pandemic, Canadian miner Mountain Province CEO Stuart Brown said on Wednesday. Although demand for rough diamonds was not yet back... →
Exploration is priority, says Mineral Resources Minister Gwede Mantashe

By: Martin Creamer 3rd November 2020 South Africa should be an exploration site that contributes to gross domestic product growth and employment creation. “Exploration is the way to go and a priority,” Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe told the 2020 Junior Indaba in his keynote address on Tuesday. (Also watch... →
Federation cautiously optimistic for holiday season
By: Tasneem Bulbulia 3rd November 2020 The diamond industry is hoping for a strong holiday season to help it regain some of the major losses of this year, and put it back on track for growth in 2021; however, the Covid-19 crisis is still ongoing and its health and economic effects will be felt in holiday purchases, especially in the... →
End of an era as Argyle delivers its final production
By: Esmarie Iannucci 3rd November 2020 Mining major Rio Tinto has ceased mining activities at its Argyle diamond mine, in the Kimberley region of Western Australia, after 37 years of operation. “Fifty years ago there were very few people who believed there were diamonds in Australia – even fewer could have foreseen how the Argyle... →

Flow-through must not only incentivise exploration but also market participation – Miller 
By: Martin Creamer 2nd November 2020 A flow-through share scheme tax incentive, currently under consideration for South Africa, must serve to incentivise not only exploration but also public listed market development and market participation by a diversity of investors. Mining supply sales consultancy AmaranthCX director Paul Miller... →

Mining supply sales consultancy AmaranthCX director Paul Miller
Botswana rough diamond exports down 66% in third quarter
By: Reuters 30th October 2020 Botswana's rough diamond exports plunged around 66% in the third quarter compared with the same period last year, data showed on Friday, as the coronavirus pandemic hit demand and global travel restrictions impacted trading. Botswana closed its borders in March to curb the spread of the virus,... →
Gem says higher prices demonstrate improved demand for Letšeng diamonds 
By: Donna Slater 28th October 2020 LSE-listed diamond miner Gem Diamonds has sold 70 559 ct worth of diamonds for the year to date, achieving an average price of $1 908/ct. During the third quarter, the group also unearthed five diamonds greater than 100 ct, bringing the total for the year to date to 13. →

Hopes rise as top firms arrive at potential flow-through share model to stimulate mining exploration

By: Martin Creamer 27th October 2020 A flow-through share model has been drawn up with the help of top firms to stimulate badly neglected mining exploration in South Africa, Minerals Council South Africa junior and emerging miners leadership forum chairperson Errol Smart said on Tuesday. Speaking to Mining Weekly in a Zoom... →
Petra cautiously optimistic about improved diamond prices
By: Tasneem Bulbulia 27th October 2020 Diamond miner Petra Diamonds continued to perform well during the three months to September 30, with record carat production at the Cullinan mine in South Africa during August and September, an “excellent achievement” given the Covid-19 mitigation measures, which now form part of the group’s... →
Rio's 'special' diamonds up for tender
26th October 2020 Diversified miner Rio Tinto has announced that a selection of rough diamonds from the company’s Canadian and Australian mines will be tendered to diamond specialists in October and November. Headlining Rio’s forthcoming “specials” tender, which showcases rough diamonds greater than 10.8 ct, is... →
Rio Tinto asks court to OK sale of partner's diamonds in Canada mine
By: Reuters 26th October 2020 Global miner Rio Tinto is seeking court approval to sell its partner's share of diamonds from a mine in Canada's Northwest Territories, a filing showed, hoping to recover around C$120-million plus legal fees and other costs. Rio owns 60% of Diavik Diamond Mines Inc (DDMI) and says it is owed... →

Diamond manufacturers have a chance to make profit – Rapaport
By: Mariaan Webb 23rd October 2020 The coronavirus pandemic, which hit the diamond industry hard in the first half of 2020, has presented an opportunity for squeezed diamond manufacturers to turn things around and start making profit. Squeezed by high rough diamond costs and declining polished prices, manufacturers and dealers... →

De Beers says rough diamond demand is ticking up
By: Marleny Arnoldi 22nd October 2020 Diamond miner De Beers' rough diamond production decreased by 4% year-on-year to 7.2-million carats in the third quarter of the year as a result of planned reductions in production to match lower demand for rough diamonds in the market, amid Covid-19. Specifically, production from the company’s... →
Covid has highlighted the value of operating remotely – mining editor 
By: Martin Creamer 22nd October 2020 The extraction of data from machinery to improve decision-making is a key benefit of the digital mine and has changed the way that mines manage their assets and perform machine maintenance, Australia Mining managing editor Ben Creagh said on Wednesday. Creagh was speaking during a virtual... →

Petra to hold special tender to sell five blue diamonds
By: Marleny Arnoldi 21st October 2020 London-listed Petra Diamonds has launched a special tender process for its Letlapa Tala Collection, which comprises five blue diamonds of significant colour, clarity, size and heritage. The diamonds were recovered from the company’s Cullinan mine, in Gauteng. →

Diamcor closes first tranche of C$3.5m convertible loan
By: Creamer Media Reporter 20th October 2020 TSX-V-listed Diamcor Mining has closed the first tranche of a C$3.5-million convertible loan financing. The initial tranche included subscriptions from five investors for aggregate gross proceeds of C$954 500. →
Botswana sees 7.7 % growth in 2021 on diamond industry recovery
By: Reuters 20th October 2020 Botswana's economy will rebound and grow 7.7% in 2021 from a 8.9% contraction forecast this year, on the back of improved sentiment in the global diamond industry, the finance minister said on Tuesday. Botswana's economy shrank by 24% in the second quarter of 2020 as coronavirus lockdowns at home... →
Petra's shares fall as it announces proposed restructuring 
By: Creamer Media Reporter 20th October 2020 The share price of London-listed Petra Diamonds fell by nearly 10% on Tuesday morning, as it announced that it had reached an in-principle agreement with its lenders with respect to a long-term solution for the recapitalisation of the group and that it was no longer planning to sell the company... →

Petra CEO Richard Duffy
BlueRock sells 2 900 ct diamond parcel
By: Tasneem Bulbulia 19th October 2020 Aim-listed BlueRock Diamonds has sold 2 900 ct of diamonds recovered from its Kareevlei mine, in the Kimberley region of South Africa, at an average price of $300/ct for an aggregate consideration of $870 165. “This is the third successful private sale conducted through an agent in South Africa... →
Russian diamond producer Alrosa's third-quarter output down 24%
By: Reuters 16th October 2020 Russian diamond producer Alrosa's third-quarter production fell 24% year on year but was up 62% from the previous quarter to 9.2-million carats, it said on Friday. Alrosa, the world's largest producer of rough diamonds, said coronavirus-hit demand started to recover in August but it added a... →
Prelim results bode well
16th October 2020 Aim- and Botswana Stock Exchange- (BSE-) listed diamond explorer Botswana Diamonds (BOD), last month announced the preliminary results of the next phase of its drilling campaign on the Marsfontein project. “The objective of this limited exercise was to test an historical anomaly identified as... →
Mining committed to doing all it takes to improve worker health – Matlala 
By: Martin Creamer 15th October 2020 Minerals Council South Africa VP and Masoyise Health Programme chairperson Zanele Matlala on Thursday committed the South African mining industry to doing all it takes to ensure that employee lives are saved and health is improved. Speaking at a global virtual health seminar to reprioritise... →

Minerals Council South Africa VP and Masoyise Health Programme chairperson Zanele Matlala
Lucapa considering Mothae expansion
By: Esmarie Iannucci 15th October 2020 Diamond miner Lucapa Diamond Company has reported a 280% increase in the indicated resource at its Mothae kimberlite diamond mine, in Lesotho. The project is now estimated to host a Joint Ore Reserves Committee- (Jorc-) compliant indicated resource of some 9.2-million tonnes, containing around... →
India says slump in diamond exports is much worse than 2008
By: Bloomberg 14th October 2020 Diamond exports from India are set to tumble by as much as a quarter this year as the pandemic crushes demand and breaks supply chains. Overseas sales of cut and polished diamonds may slump 20% to 25% in the year ending March from $18.66-billion last year, according to Colin Shah, chairman of... →
De Beers records $467m worth of rough diamond sales in eight sales cycle
By: Donna Slater 14th October 2020 Diversified miner Anglo American reports that its diamond mining subsidiary, the De Beers Group, recorded $467-million worth of provisional rough diamond sales, both through global sightholder sales and auctions, during the eight sales cycle of the year. CEO Bruce Cleaver says the company... →

Record third quarter for diamond miner BlueRock
By: Donna Slater 13th October 2020 Aim-listed diamond junior BlueRock Diamonds has reported strong operational third-quarter results, setting records for three of its main performance indicators: production, carats produced and grade. Despite still using its old plant, the operator of the Kareevlei diamond mine near Kimberley, in... →
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