Diamonds – Mining, Lab-Grown and Conflict/Blood – Page 30

The bright side of the diamond supply gap – by Daniel Israelson (Globe and Mail – February 27, 2018)

February 28, 2018

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

For investors scratching their heads about the future of volatile world markets this year, David Whittle offers an alternative: Say it with diamonds. “We’re the largest new diamond mine in the Northwest Territories,” says Mr. Whittle, interim president and CEO of Mountain Province Diamonds Inc. (MPVD).

His Toronto-based company is a 49-per-cent joint venture partner with mining giant De Beers Canada Inc. in the mine called Gahcho Kué, a remote fly-in/fly out operation 280 kilometres northwest of Yellowknife.

“De Beers is the operator. They run it hands-on, and we’re fully involved with the oversight and management. We take a fulsome role in the decision-making,” Mr. Whittle says. The mine started pre-commercial production in 2016 and went into commercial production in the middle of last year.

Prosperous 2017 for De Beers means N.W.T. diamond industry warming up: Chamber of Mines – by Gabriela Panza-Beltrandi (CBC News North – February 26, 2018)

February 27, 2018

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/

De Beers Canada brought in close to $260 million in earnings in 2017

A prosperous year for De Beers Canada could mean the diamond industry is warming up in Northwest Territories, according to the executive director of NWT and Nunavut Chamber of Mines.

In the 2017 fiscal year, De Beers Canada brought in close to $260 million in earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization. “We had a tremendous production year. We had the biggest ever production output from Canada,” said Kim Truter, CEO of De Beers Canada.

“We’re looking at another bumper year from Canada, something we’re very excited about.” Truter said it’s thanks in large part to the Gahcho Kue mine, located about 280 kilometres northeast of Yellowknife.

First Nation, mining company announce partnership – by Alexandra Paul (Winnipeg Free Press – February 20, 2018)

February 21, 2018

https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/

A remote Manitoba First Nation has made history by partnering up with a mining company to explore diamond claims staked in the Oxford Lake area.

There’s only an outside chance the deal between Altius Resources Inc. and Manitoba’s Bunibonibee Cree Nation will lead to a new mining source for diamonds, but its chief and the lawyers who mediated the agreement with Altius say the deal breaks ground even if there’s never enough diamonds to open up a mine.

“It is very historic. It is, we believe, the first of its kind in Manitoba. It sets out the conditions for acquiring the First Nation’s consent. Which means the company has acquired it, but has done so on a whole series of protection and compensatory measures that are sufficient for the First Nation,” said Kate Kempton, counsel for the First Nation at the Toronto-based law firm Olthuis, Kleer and Townshend.

How glitz and glamour deceits banks time and again – by Atmadip Ray and Sangita Mehta (Economic/India Times – February 21, 2018)

February 21, 2018

https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/

Diamonds are regarded as the hardest known material on the planet. Going by the mounting pile of loan delinquencies, they seem to be the hardest business for Indian bankers to crack.

Last week, Punjab National BankBSE 0.47 % (PNBBSE 0.47 %) acknowledged an elaborate web of deception that had defrauded the lender, on initial count, of Rs 11,400 crore. PNB’s startling disclosure involving diamond jewellery designer Nirav Modi capped a string of striking defaults by businesses in polished stones, putting the spotlight on the underwriting skills of bankers financing an industry famed for its glitz and glamour.

Among the delinquents are Gitanjali GemsBSE -9.85 %, promoted by Modi’s maternal uncle Mehul Choksi, that owes about Rs 9,000 crore to lenders, Winsome Diamond that defaulted on Rs 6,800 crore, Surat’s Vincent Diamond that caused losses of Rs 4,500 crore and JB Diamond, which defaulted on Rs 800 crore of loans.

Zimbabwe: Account for the Missing $15 Billion – Mnangagwa Told (All Africa.com – February 14, 2018)

February 15, 2018

http://allafrica.com/

Presidential candidate in the forthcoming elections, Dr Noah Manyika, who leads the Build Zimbabwe Alliance party, says President Emmerson Mnangagwa and his Vice Presidents must be held accountable for the $15 billion worth of diamonds revenue, as they were in critical positions when the loot reportedly happened.

Former President Robert Mugabe broke the news of the missing $15 billion diamond revenue in an interview to mark his 92nd birthday in March in 2016, saying Treasury had received $2 billion since diamond mining operations started in 2008.

There has not been any arrests made since, although a “witch hunt ” was launched in November of 2016. Dr Manyika, who is one of the several presidential aspirants, said Mnangagwa should be held accountable for the loot together with Vice Presidents Kembo Mohadi and Constantino Chiwenga.

[DeBeers Greenhouse] Writer raising funds to build greenhouse in Attawapiskat – by Emma Meldrum (Timmins Daily Press – February 14, 2018)

February 14, 2018

http://www.timminspress.com/

TIMMINS – It’s far from a done deal, but if David Franks has his way, a greenhouse will be built in Attawapiskat First Nation thanks to the proceeds of his book.

Published late last year, 30 Days in Attawapiskat details “the observations and impressions of a once-proud, yet blissfully ignorant Canadian writer who spent a month on the fly-in First Nation reserve,” according to the description on Amazon. Half of net profits from that book will be used to design and build a community greenhouse on the reserve.

Franks was recently back in the community to talk to Chief Ignace Gull. The meeting left the writer “kind of stymied at the moment for where we can build this.” Gull told The Daily Press there simply isn’t space. “We don’t have space in the community for other buildings or structures. Everything has been designated for our housing project,” said the chief. Nearby Potato Island is an option.

2017 US Holiday Jewelry Sales Rise, Reports Indicate Continued Economic Growth – by Russell Shor (gemological institute of America – January 19, 2018)

February 13, 2018

https://www.gia.edu/

Holiday jewelry sales in the U.S. increased 5.9% in 2017, according to a Mastercard-SpendingPulse survey, and outpaced spending in general, which increased 4.9%. The survey found that jewelry buying was running behind other retail categories until the week before Christmas when sales surged. Mastercard’s survey results are typically a bit higher than others.

A Centurion survey of primarily upscale jewelry retailers found that nearly 60% reported sales increases (one-third of those over 10%), but many noted that the gains came despite decreased customer traffic – fewer buyers were spending more money.

Signet Plc, the largest jewelry chain, turned in a disappointing season, however. Declining traffic at shopping malls and problems with its credit program resulted in a sub-par season: a 5.3% decline in its same store U.S. sales and an 8% decline overall.

Top jewellery brands failing to ensure gold, diamonds mined ethically, Human Rights Watch says – by Henry Sanderson (Financial Times – February 8, 2018)

February 8, 2018

https://www.ft.com/

Some of the world’s leading jewellery companies are failing to ensure that their gold and diamonds are mined ethically, according to Human Rights Watch, despite two decades of efforts to clean up the industry.

While the world has made progress limiting the flow of diamonds linked to conflict, so-called blood diamonds, leading brands such as Boodles, Rolex, Cartier and Bulgari are failing to do enough to show that all their gems are not linked to broader human rights abuses, the New York-based group said.

“An increasing number of customers want to be sure the jewellery they buy has not fuelled human rights abuses,” Juliane Kippenberg, associate child rights director at Human Rights Watch, said.

War on blood diamond trade loses its lustre in age of digital smuggling – by Jon Yeomans (The Telegraph – January 28, 2018)

January 29, 2018

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/

The diamond industry stands at a crossroads. The Kimberley Process, a scheme designed to certify that diamonds are “conflict-free”, is under pressure to reform.

Once regarded as a landmark agreement between industry, governments and NGOs, it has been attacked for widespread shortcomings. Can it restore confidence in the industry and can consumers be sure of what they are buying?

For years, the diamond business was dominated by mining house De Beers, which controlled global prices by buying and selling rough, unpolished diamonds from its rivals.

Gahcho Kué adds vim to Anglo 2017 output numbers despite cuts – by David McKay (MiningMX – January 25, 2018)

January 25, 2018

http://www.miningmx.com/

ANGLO American turned in a robust fourth quarter production performance which took full year production on a copper equivalent basis some 5% higher compared to 2016, largely owing to good numbers at Kumba Iron Ore and De Beers, its 85% subsidiary.

Mark Cutifani, CEO of Anglo American, said the year-on-year improvement was despite cutting platinum and metallurgical coal output. “The ramp up of Gahcho Kué and Grosvenor mines made positive contributions to our production profile in 2017, and a strong performance from Sishen resulted in an 8% increase in production from Kumba Iron Ore,” he said in a statement.

Gahcho Kué is the De Beers’ newly commissioned diamond mine in Canada’s Northwest Territories. It reached nameplate production in the second quarter of the financial year.

Zimbabwe mulls scrapping majority black ownership on diamond, platinum sectors – by Cecilia Jamasmie (Mining.com – January 23, 2018)

January 24, 2018

http://www.mining.com/

Zimbabwe’s new government may soon scrap a 51% requirement of local ownership for foreign investors in the diamond and platinum sectors, in an effort to re-engage international lenders, curb spending and attract investors to revive the country’s battered economy.

The so-called indigenization laws intended to increase black Zimbabweans’ share of the economy, but were opaque and open to abuse.

President Emmerson Mnangagwa, who took the post in November after Robert Mugabe quit under pressure from the military, had already said he would revoke such rule on all other minerals, except from diamonds and platinum.

NEWS RELEASE: Global Trends in Artisanal and Small-Scale Mining (ASM): A review of key numbers and issues (International Institute for Environmental and Development – January 22, 2018)

January 23, 2018

http://www.iisd.org/

For the entire report: https://www.iisd.org/sites/default/files/publications/igf-asm-global-trends.pdf

Global Trends in Artisanal and Small-Scale Mining (ASM): A review of key numbers and issues was prepared by the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) for the Intergovernmental Forum on Mining, Minerals and Sustainable Development (IGF).

ASM has experienced explosive growth in recent years due to the rising value of mineral prices and the increasing difficulty of earning a living from agriculture and other rural activities. An estimated 40.5 million people were directly engaged in ASM in 2017, up from 30 million in 2014, 13 million in 1999 and 6 million in 1993. That compares with only 7 million people working in industrial mining in 2014.

ASM is generally pursued as a route out of poverty or as an activity to complement insufficient income, especially in communities where alternative employment is hard to come by. ASM is also a very diverse sector. Its main challenges vary from region to region—and often from site to site.

Zimbabwe May End Local Ownership Rule on Platinum, Diamonds – by Antony Sguazzin and Godfrey Marawanyika (Bloomberg News – January 23, 2018)

January 23, 2018

https://www.bloomberg.com/

Zimbabwe, which has the world’s second-biggest platinum reserves, may lift a requirement that companies mining the metal or diamonds must be at least 51 percent owned by black citizens of the country, President Emmerson Mnangagwa said.

Mnangagwa, who became president in November after Robert Mugabe resigned under pressure from the military, has announced that the ownership requirement on all other minerals will be abolished. The government needs to assess its platinum and diamond industries more carefully, he said.

“I only excluded diamonds and platinum for now. We do not have a real or deep-rooted or well-interrogated policy on diamonds or platinum,” the 75-year-old president said in an interview in his office in the capital, Harare, last week. “Down the line when we are satisfied that this can also go into the open basket we will do so.”

‘Blood diamond’ agreement fails consumers, says NGO – by Henry Sanderson (Financial Times – January 22, 2018)

January 22, 2018

https://www.ft.com/

The global agreement to prevent trade in “blood diamonds” from Africa has failed to assure consumers their gems are not tainted by human rights abuses and conflict, according to one of its founding members.

IMPACT, a Canadian non-government organisation, has left the Kimberley Process because it says it has given buyers “false confidence” about where their stones come from and needs to reform.

The departure of IMPACT, nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize for its work on conflict diamonds, leaves only one international NGO left in the Kimberley Process, established in 2003 to prevent diamonds being used to fund rebel groups in Africa.

Millennials Are Snubbing Diamonds – by Bei Hu (Bloomberg News – January 18, 2018)

January 19, 2018

https://www.bloomberg.com/

Diamonds are set to slump further, according to a hedge fund whose bet on marijuana made it the world’s best performer in 2016.

Prices of the precious gem may slump as much as 10 percent this year as it loses appeal with younger consumers and faces challenges from synthetic alternatives, said Singapore-based Ben Cleary, who co-manages the $500 million Tribeca Global Natural Resources Fund.

“Diamonds are marketed on the idea that they will forever represent a pinnacle of luxury and materialist desire,” Cleary wrote in an email. “Our concern is whether a younger generation of millennials will have the same allegiance to the same products as their parents and grandparents.”