Lucapa finds 171-carat diamond at Angola mine

Gem-quality 171 carat white diamond found at Lulo.

Lucapa Diamond has recovered a 171 carat gem-quality stone from its prolific Lulo mine in Angola, which was restarted in early May. The miner said the white diamond is the 15th 100-plus carat it has recovered to date from Lulo and the second 100-plus carat precious rock found in 2020. The diamond was recovered from mining block six, where five … Read more

Big-Stone Recoveries Return as Letšeng Reopens

Gem Diamonds new large rough diamond recoveries

Gem Diamonds has recovered a number of large, high-quality stones at its Letšeng mine in Lesotho, all found in the first week after production resumed following the COVID-19 lockdown. They include a 60-carat, light-yellow, type I diamond, and three D-color, white, type II diamonds weighing 87, 66 and 23 carats, the company said Monday. It … Read more

Pandora in the Red as China Market Slows

Pandora store in HK

Pandora reported a loss in the first quarter following global store shutdowns amid the coronavirus outbreak. The company posted a loss of DKK 24 million ($3.5 million), compared with a profit of DKK 797 million ($115.8 million) the previous year, the Danish charm maker said Tuesday. The loss was driven by the global shutdown of … Read more

Alrosa halts diamond mining at two assets

Alrosa

Russia’s Alrosa, the world’s top diamond producer by output, is temporarily suspending production at two assets as demand and sales for diamonds continues to drop. Major consumers, including China and the United States, are struggling with economic headwinds caused by the global covid-19 pandemic. Extended lockdowns affecting key players in the supply chain, including polishers and top retailers, … Read more

Don’t Ban Rough Buying, De Beers Urges

Bruce Cleaver

De Beers CEO Bruce Cleaver has called on the trade to allow rough purchases, assuring manufacturers the company won’t require them to buy in the weak market. “We will only sell [rough] when the demand is such that it can create sustainable value for all of us,” the executive wrote in a blog post Friday. … Read more

India Trade Urged to Freeze Rough Imports

Rough diamond

India’s leading diamond-trade organizations have called on members to stop importing rough for at least a month to prevent an oversupply and ensure banks maintain their credit to the sector. Companies should consider pausing rough imports from May 15 for a minimum of 30 days, according to a letter from the Gem & Jewellery Export … Read more

De Beers Makes Dramatic Cut to Production Plan

De Beers Production

De Beers has reduced its full-year production guidance by 7 million carats, putting the miner on course for its lowest output since 2009.  The miner expects to produce between 25 million and 27 million carats in 2020, compared to the 32 million to 34 million in its original projection, it said Thursday. The revised forecast … Read more

JCK Las Vegas Canceled for 2020

JCK Las Vegas Canceled

The 2020 JCK Las Vegas and Luxury shows have been canceled, the events’ organizer has confirmed, as the coronavirus continues to sweep across the globe. “This decision was made in response to the unprecedented challenges faced by JCK’s jewelry community,” Sarin Bachmann, Reed Jewelry Group’s vice president for the shows, said Tuesday. “We know [it] … Read more

De Beers Pauses Botswana Mining

De Beers Jwaneng Mine

De Beers’ mining operations in Botswana have been on hold for more than two weeks amid a national lockdown, the company told Rapaport News. Debswana, the company’s joint venture with the government, paused activities on April 2 when the coronavirus-related restrictions began, a De Beers spokesperson said Friday. The miner had not previously disclosed its full … Read more

Alrosa achieves good first-quarter sales, maintains diamond output guidance

Alrosa diamonds

Russia-based diamond miner Alrosa produced eight-million carats of diamonds and sold 9.4-million carats in the first quarter of the year. The company generated sales revenues of $904-million from rough and polished diamonds. This was despite diamond production seasonally declining by 9% quarter-on-quarter, although year-on-year diamond production growth was 2%. The year-on-year growth was supported by … Read more