Botswana Diamonds

Israel Gives $284M Boost to Diamond Trade

The Israeli government has pledged $284 million (NIS 1 billion) to guarantee bank loans to diamond companies in an effort to ease the trade’s severe credit difficulties.

A lack of credit is stifling growth, especially among the smaller firms that constitute about 70% of the Israeli trade, according to a special committee set up to investigate the sector’s challenges.

The team — led by Naama Kaufman-Pass, deputy director-general of the nation’s Ministry of Economy and Industry — released its findings earlier this month, highlighting several ways in which the industry had hit a crisis.

Banks’ perception of the diamond sector as high-risk has led to a decline in total lending to the Israeli trade from $2.5 billion in 2008 to about $1 billion last year, the committee said in its report. Financial institutions are also refusing to accept dealers’ inventory as collateral, while competition from India and Belgium has added further damage to Israel’s market position.

To this end, the government fund will back companies’ borrowing, meaning that if they fail to repay a loan to a bank, the state will pay. While the committee submitted the policy to Eli Cohen, minister of industry and economy, as a recommendation, the lawmaker said the government was set to go ahead with the program.

“We have decided to allocate another billion shekels over the next five years to the diamond sector through credit guarantees,” Cohen told an audience at the International Diamond Week in Israel last week.

In addition, the committee suggested the government provide money for the bourse’s newly launched innovation laboratory, put cash into bringing more diamond buyers to Israel, support efforts to develop e-commerce opportunities, and contribute to other projects to boost the industry.

“The committee identified the main hurdles in small businesses’ activities in the sector, and its recommendations offer a comprehensive response to its needs,” Kaufman-Pass said.

The diamond trade is an important segment of the Israeli economy, representing about 13% of total exports, and employing about 9,500 people, according to the report. However, the 2008 global financial crash led to a 27% slump in Israel’s polished-diamond exports between that year and 2016, with the Chinese market slump in 2015 also denting demand.

“Implementing the committee’s conclusions, alongside other steps, is essential, considering the crisis the sector has been through,” Cohen added in a statement. “Their purpose is to provide new tools to help deal with challenges in the trade and to ease regulation, thereby growing both production and exports.”

Shay Rinsky, director-general of the Ministry of Economy and Industry, set up the committee in September to delve into issues of credit and growth in the diamond trade and examine how to bring the industry forward.

Source: diamonds.net

World’s largest rarest and most valuable D Flawless round diamond

102.34 carat D colour Flawless round diamond

To celebrate its one year anniversary, this morning Sotheby’s Diamonds revealed its most exceptional gem to date: a 102.34 carat, D Flawless, Type IIA round brilliant diamond, which the auction house describes as “the rarest and most valuable white diamond ever to come to market”.

The diamond was cut from a 425-carat rough mined by the De Beers group in Botswana. The cutting process took over six months and required the diamond to be transported between Johannesburg and New York.

De Beers Will Start Auctioning Other Mines Goods

De Beers will begin auctioning rough diamonds from other mining companies to provide a broader range of goods.

The company will pilot the new program this year, making it easier for customers to buy their entire supply in one place, Neil Ventura, De Beers executive vice president of auction sales, said on Monday.

“One message that’s come through from our recent customer engagements is a desire for us to develop our supply offering in certain areas, so that there is a fuller and broader range of material available for purchase,” Ventura said.

“Based on this customer feedback, in 2018 we will be testing the potential to grow our core rough-diamond sales business through making some purchases from third-party sources,” he added.

The diamonds will come from miners which De Beers has carried out due diligence, and will only be a small minority of the goods De Beers offers.

De Beers’ $370M Sight Reflects Slow Rough Market

De Beers’ October sight closed with a value of $370 million as rough-diamond buying slowed due to holidays and sightholders reported a sluggish dealer market.

Proceeds from the miner’s eighth sales cycle fell 27% from $507 million in the previous sight in August, and dropped 25% compared with the equivalent period a year ago, according to Rapaport records. Rough prices were largely unchanged from the previous sight, sightholders noted, with many dealers on the secondary market struggling to make a profit on the goods or even cover costs.

De Beers offered fewer rough diamonds for sale during the month as last week’s sight occurred during a period when polishing factories in India and Israel were closed for religious holidays, the company’s CEO Bruce Cleaver explained Tuesday.

“Sales were in line with expectations, at what is a seasonally slower time for rough-diamond demand,” Cleaver added.

The Indian cutting industry is preparing to close for Diwali, which occurs this Thursday. Buyers brought rough purchases forward to the July sales cycle because of the relatively early date of the festival this year, De Beers noted at previous sights. The last two sights have both been significantly smaller than a year ago as a result.

Sightholders were optimistic about the end-of-year holiday season, even as De Beers’ rough sales have declined 7% to $4.38 billion for the year to date, Rapaport records show. Russian miner Alrosa echoed this positive outlook, also noting that the timing of Diwali had weakened sales in September.

“We expect the traditional revival of the market situation in the fourth quarter, as the industry starts to prepare for the winter holiday season,” Alrosa vice president Yury Okoyomov said last week.

Source: diamonds.net

Rapaport to Auction Historic Sierra Leone 709ct. Peace Diamond

Rapaport Group has been appointed as the marketing and sales agent of the Peace Diamond by The Government of Sierra Leone.

The 709 carat Rough Diamond was recovered by diamond diggers in the village of Koryardu in Sierra Leone West Africa.

50% of the Peace Diamond sale value will directly go to benefit the community where the diamond was discovered, and the people of Sierra Leone.

Petra Diamonds shares drop

More trouble for diamond miner Petra Diamonds yesterday after it warned it is heading into financial trouble with its lenders.

Petra has borrowed heavily to expand its operations in the country. The company is now likely to breach its banking covenants at the end of the year, because of the row with the government in Tanzania. As well as strikes at three of its mines in South Africa.

Petra diamonds is known for the size and quality of the diamonds produced at the famous Cullinan mine outside of Pretoria in South Africa.

Botswana Wants Option to Buy Unusually Big Diamonds

The world’s second largest 1,109 carat rough diamond discovered two years ago, has prompted the Botswana government to amend the law giving it first option to buy unusually large diamonds.

Botswana’s success has been due to the rough diamond mines.

An official told a local newspaper that it referred to stones that were unusually large, were particularly clear or had a rare colour.

The price will agreed between the government and the producer, both parties with the current market price of the rough stones.

De Beers Raises Marketing Budget to USD $140M

De Beers marketing spend this years is more than $140 million, This is the biggest De Beers push in a decade.

The marketing will focus on increasing consumer demand for diamond jewellery in US, China and Indian markets.

The De Beers brands, Forevermark and De Beers Diamond Jewellers. Will receive the most funding, But Debeers will also increase its contributions to the Diamond Producers Association and India’s Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council.

Stephen Lussier, De Beers’ executive vice president of marketing and CEO of Forevermark. Said the consumer expenditure for diamond jewellery over the past five years collectively has been the highest on record. and this made the outlook positive.

Seven Diamonds Over 50 Carats Recovered By Lucapa

Lucapa Diamond Company announced Thursday it has recovered seven stones exceeding 50 carats at its Lulo mine in Angola, including two type IIa stones.

The two IIa stones weigh 68 carats and 83 carats. All seven rough diamonds scheduled to sell in September as part of the next parcel marketed by Sociedade Mineira Do Lulo the mining company in which Lucapa has a 40% stake.

The large diamond finds come from Lulo’s block 8, at which Lucapa recently resumed operations at the end of the wet season.

This area is known for yielding large diamonds, including Angola’s 404 carat rough diamond which is the biggest recorded and sold for $16 million.