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Diamonds News
Edward Asscher named World Diamond Council president
By: Tasneem Bulbulia 8th June 2020 Edward Asscher has been named president of the World Diamond Council (WDC), the international organisation that is charged with leading the industry’s effort to prevent conflict diamonds from entering the jewellery supply chain and with representing it in the tripartite Kimberley Process... →
Mountain Province proposes $50m sales agreement with Desmond's Dunebridge
By: Mariaan Webb 8th June 2020 With traditional markets for rough diamond sales remaining closed, Canadian diamond miner Mountain Province on Monday unveiled a proposed $50-million transaction that will provide it with short-term liquidity. The 49% participant in the Gahcho Kue mine, in Northwest Territories, is proposing an... →
BlueRock concludes diamond sale
By: Tasneem Bulbulia 8th June 2020 Aim-listed BlueRock Diamonds, which operates the Kareevlei diamond mine, near Kimberley, in South Africa, has announced the private sale of 2 400 ct at an average price of $290 /ct for a total of $700 000. "This sale at a time when the traditional sales channels for diamonds remain closed and at... →
The great diamond glut: Miners stuck with gems worth billions
By: Bloomberg 7th June 2020 In one of the world’s biggest diamond vaults, hidden inside a nondescript office compound on the dusty outskirts of Botswana’s capital, the precious stones just keep piling up. Owner De Beers, which mines and auctions most of its gems in the southern African nation, has barely sold any rough... →
Alrosa sees coronavirus impact lingering after Q1 profit slide
By: Reuters 5th June 2020 Russian diamond producer Alrosa reported an 87% slide in first-quarter net profit on Friday and said its future results were likely to suffer from the impact of the coronavirus outbreak on sales. Net profit fell to 3.1-billion roubles in the first three months of the year, it said, hurt by the... →
Diamond market outlook at even odds
By: Mamaili Mamaila 5th June 2020 The diamond industry has been dealing with an oversupplied market since upstream production hit a multi-year high in 2017 and as the mid-stream segment delivered inventory in 2018 and 2019. →
Diamonds are forever in times of crisis
By: Mamaili Mamaila 5th June 2020 Some mined commodities, particularly precious metals, such as gold, have increased in value, owing to the perception that they can be safe-haven assets during times of crisis. →
Diamonds’ upward trend to resume post pandemic
By: Mamaili Mamaila 5th June 2020 Although diamond prices were gradually recovering from their low during the 2008/09 financial crisis, prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, the lockdowns in many countries have caused trading to come to a halt. →
Sector ahead of the sustainability curve, challenges remain
By: Mamaili Mamaila 5th June 2020 With many local diamond mining operations reaching their end of life, the rehabilitation and remediation of such sites – in a closure and liquidation context – has been a particular focus in recent years, says law firm Bowmans partner Wandisile Mandlana. →
Hard-hit diamond jewellery sector mulls postpandemic recovery strategies
By: Mamaili Mamaila 5th June 2020 The unforeseen global health crisis triggered by the Covid-19 pandemic has had dire economic repercussions, to which South Africa is not immune. →
South Africa's mining industry records 527 positive Covid-19 cases, 72 recoveries
By: Donna Slater 4th June 2020 The Minerals Council South Africa, in its third weekly Covid-19 update briefing on June 4, reported that, to date, the domestic mining industry has 527 positive cases of Covid-19, with 7 461 miners having been tested and 226 796 having been screened. The mining industry has also reported 72... →
Well positioned to weather storm – Standard Bank
By: Martin Creamer 4th June 2020 The Standard Bank is well positioned to weather the Covid-19 storm and remains determined to emerge from this crisis as a stronger Africa-focused financial services group, Standard Bank Group FD Dr Arno Daehnke said on Thursday. The capital and liquidity levels of Africa’s biggest lender by... →
Kazera acquires interest in diamond mine, mineral sands opportunity
By: Tasneem Bulbulia 4th June 2020 Aim-listed Kazera Global has announced the conditional acquisition of a controlling interest in a near-term producing diamond mine, as well as in a heavy mineral sands (HMS) opportunity in South Africa. Kazera will acquire a 90% stake in Deep Blue Minerals (DBM), for £600 000 in shares to be... →
Pangolin to raise $600 000 for exploration
By: Simone Liedtke 4th June 2020 TSX-V-listed Pangolin Diamonds intends to complete a nonbrokered private placement of units to raise aggregate gross proceeds of up to $600 000. The net proceeds of the offering will primarily be used for exploration expenditures at its various projects in Botswana, as well as for working capital... →
Employment in alluvial diamonds, Kalagadi Manganese & Moz make headlines 
4th June 2020 Mining Weekly Editor Martin Creamer discusses the South African Diamond Producers Organisation's plea to be allowed create jobs in the alluvial diamond sector, the Industrial Development Corporation & the future of Kalagadi Manganese, and Mozambique's online licence processing system. →
BlueRock achieves notable production at Kareevlei following restart
By: Tasneem Bulbulia 3rd June 2020 Aim-listed BlueRock Diamonds is recording solid results at its Kareevlei diamond mine in the Kimberley region of South Africa, following its restart last month when mines in South Africa were allowed to partially resume operations. There have been no cases of Covid-19 reported at Kareevlei. →
Mozambique streaks ahead with new e-government cadastre advance 
By: Martin Creamer 3rd June 2020 While South Africa is still trundling along laboriously with a minerals cadastre system fraught with shortcomings, Mozambique has rocketed to the highest firmament of e-government licence processing, Mining Weekly can report. Mozambique first led the pack 17 years ago when, ironically, it latched... →
Urgent plea to allow struggling alluvial diamond sector to create jobs
By: Martin Creamer 3rd June 2020 The discovery of alluvial diamonds in the unique secondary deposits of the Middle Orange River downstream of Hopetown in South Africa in 1867 was the catalyst that initiated the development of the mining industry in Southern Africa. But compared with its heyday between the 1990s and early 2000s,... →
Lucapa closes rights issue
By: Esmarie Iannucci 3rd June 2020 Diamond miner Lucapa has raised A$5.25-million through its non-renounceable pro-rata rights issue to bankroll its search for the primary kimberlite source of the high value alluvial diamonds recovered at its Lulo project, in Angola. The company in April announced the rights issue under which... →
New solution for monitoring tailings dams
By: Martin Creamer 2nd June 2020 The tragic tailings dam breach in Brazil that killed more than 270 people has focused the world of mining on making tailings dams safe. Earlier this year, and environmental organisation Grid-Arendal launched the world’s first publicly accessible global database of mine tailings storage facilities... →
Tailings dam.
New natural diamond council launched
By: Martin Creamer 2nd June 2020 A natural diamond is made from carbon and is the hardest natural known substance on earth. Natural diamonds are created over a period of one to three billion years, many kilometres below the earth's mantle under natural conditions of very high pressure and high temperature. But unlike champagne,... →
Petra Diamonds experiences Covid-19-influenced drop in diamond sales
By: Donna Slater 1st June 2020 Driven by significantly reduced diamond prices, especially in its March tender, diamond miner Petra Diamonds reports a drop in revenue of 32% year-on-year to $91.3-million for the third quarter of the financial year ended March 31. Reflecting stable market conditions before the Covid-19 pandemic... →
Congo suspends board and management of State diamond miner MIBA
By: Reuters 1st June 2020 The Democratic Republic of Congo has suspended the board of directors and management of state-controlled diamond mining company MIBA, after an audit revealed significant irregularities, the government said in a statement. The audit identified a host of problems including compliance, governance,... →
Minister urges mines to test without fear of mine closure
By: Martin Creamer 29th May 2020 Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe on Friday urged mines to test for Covid-19 to the full extent without fearing mine closure. The Minister was responding to a media question on the steps the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) was taking to end the backlog of... →
Gwede Mantashe
Mining industry well prepared to tackle Covid-19 with new, existing protocols
By: Donna Slater 29th May 2020 The South African mining industry is, generally, well prepared to deal with the return to work of a large percentage of staff as lockdown Alert Levels move from Level 4 to Level 3 on June 1, reports the Minerals Council South Africa. The council noted in its second weekly Covid-19 update... →
Sadpo suggests diamond stocks be held back until market improves
By: Marleny Arnoldi 29th May 2020 In its latest newsletter, the South African Diamond Producers Organisation (Sadpo) has advised that diamond producers hold back on production and sales, as the rough diamond market remains under immense pressure. Sadpo says the rough diamond market, particularly for larger diamonds, has... →
This year's Electra Mining cancelled
By: Donna Slater 29th May 2020 Organisers of Southern Africa’s mining, manufacturing, automation, electrical and power trade exhibition Electra Mining Africa, Specialised Exhibitions, reports that the 2020 edition of the trade fair has been cancelled as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. This year’s show had been scheduled to... →
Botswana Diamonds recovers over 100 diamonds from Marsfontein bulk sampling
By: Simone Liedtke 29th May 2020 Aim- and BSE-listed Botswana Diamonds (BOD) has concluded the processing of two bulk samples taken from the Marsfontein diamond development project, in Limpopo; the samples of which comprised 58 t of fresh high-interest kimberlite and 62 t of kimberlite material from one of the residual... →
Conversation on getting economy back on track post-Covid has begun
By: Martin Creamer 28th May 2020 The conversation has begun on getting the South African economy back on track with the necessary structural reforms post-Covid, Minerals Council South Africa CEO Roger Baxter said on Wednesday. Speaking at question time during a virtual media conference following the council’s annual general... →
Nondigital mines losing out on R213bn in value
By: Donna Slater 28th May 2020 An updated version of a 2017 study conducted by professional services firm Accenture in collaboration with the World Economic Forum – the 'Extracting Value and Building Resilience with Data-led Mining in South Africa' report – highlights that, with a combination of seven digital initiatives,... →
Administrator says Alexkor, partner mismanaged and insolvent
By: Marleny Arnoldi 27th May 2020 Alexkor’s administrator Lloyd McPatie has said the diamond mining company is trading recklessly and cannot meet its financial obligations. Briefing the Portfolio Committee on Public Enterprises and the Select Committee on Public Enterprises and Communication on his observations of issues at the... →
Mining production to fall 8% to 10% this year, says Minerals Council
By: Reuters 26th May 2020 South Africa's mining production is likely to fall between 8% and 10% this year due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the CEO of industry body the Minerals Council said on Tuesday during a virtual panel discussion. Mines across South Africa, the world's biggest producer of platinum and chrome and a... →
AMCU calls for testing of all employees at affiliated workplaces
By: Donna Slater 25th May 2020 The Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (AMCU) has again called on employers to test all employees for Covid-19 as the pandemic continues to spread across South Africa. AMCU notes that while it has consistently called for the testing of all workers, the official stance of... →
Dominion Diamond reaches agreement to sell substantially all its assets
By: Creamer Media Reporter 25th May 2020 Struggling miner Dominion Diamond Mines, which filed for insolvency protection last month, has reached an agreement to sell substantially all its assets in a transaction that will allow mining operations at Ekati to resume and avoid bankruptcy. The company signed a letter of intent (LoI) with an... →
Full reopening of mining from June 1 – President Ramaphosa
By: Martin Creamer 24th May 2020 Subject to strict Covid-19 protocols, mining will be allowed to reopen fully from June 1, President Cyril Ramaphosa said on Sunday. In his address on South Africa’s response to the coronavirus pandemic, the President announced that South Africa would advance to level 3 from June 1, with an... →
President Cyril Ramaphosa
Alrosa cuts production target by up to 17%
By: Creamer Media Reporter 22nd May 2020 Diamond major Alrosa on Friday announced that it would curtail 2020 production to between 28-million and 31-million carats, in response to the crisis unfolding in the global rough and polished diamond market. The 2020 production guidance compares with the group’s initial guidance of 34-million... →
Leon lists measures to attract mining investment in these challenging times
By: Martin Creamer 22nd May 2020 South Africa should consider appointing an independent minerals regulator to speed up minerals licensing, Herbert Smith Freehills Africa co-chair Peter Leon said during a webinar this week. Responding to Patrick Leyden, who moderated the webinar entitled re-imagining the sub-Saharan mining... →
Trainer to benefit from investment, mature sector
By: Cameron Mackay 22nd May 2020 Virtual mining training solutions provider Immersive Technologies is encouraged by the “maturity level” of companies in Botswana, particularly in terms of technology. It is, therefore, looking forward to contributing to the wave of development in the country, spurred by continued investment from... →
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