Botswana – Page 3 – The Diamond Certification Laboratory of Australia (DCLA)

Lucara recovers 998Carat Rough Diamond

The Karowe mine has produced a 998-carat diamond, the latest in a string of large rough stones from the lucrative deposit in Botswana.

Lucara Diamond Corp., which owns Karowe, will work with manufacturing partner HB Antwerp to assess how to maximize value from the rough, the miner said Wednesday. The unbroken, high-white, clivage stone — meaning it needs to be split before further processing — came from the EM/PK(S) unit of the site’s south lobe, which has yielded some of the world’s biggest and most famous diamonds.

“Lucara is extremely pleased with the continued recovery of large, high-quality diamonds from the south lobe of the Karowe mine,” said CEO Eira Thomas. “To recover two [500-carat-plus] diamonds in 10 months, along with the many other high-quality diamonds across all the size ranges, is a testament to the unique aspect of the resource at Karowe and the mine’s ability to recover these large and rare diamonds.”

The EM/PK(S) area produced the 1,109-carat Lesedi La Rona in 2015, as well as the 1,758-carat Sewelô, which HB bought in January this year in collaboration with luxury brand Louis Vuitton.

The Belgian manufacturer later agreed to purchase all of Lucara’s rough above 10.8 carats for the remainder of the year. Last week, Lucara announced the sale of a 549-carat diamond from the same high-value patch of Karowe, with HB and Louis Vuitton again partnering on the stone.

The arrangement with HB prevented a heavier decline in Lucara’s sales in the third quarter, the first period in which income from the partnership started appearing in the miner’s top line.

Group revenue fell 9% year on year to $41.3 million in the three months ending September 30, reflecting Lucara’s decision not to hold its usual tenders of stones above 10.8 carats, the company reported Wednesday. Instead, it sold 5,633 carats through the HB partnership, with sales taking place approximately twice a month, while the miner’s online selling platform, Clara, boosted sales of smaller goods.

Total sales volume fell 3% to 112,943 carats, with the average price down 6% to $365 per carat. The company’s net loss deepened by 35% to $5.4 million.

“Lucara is now receiving regular, predictable revenue for its [10.8-carat-plus] diamonds using a superior pricing mechanism based on estimated polished outcomes less a commission and the cost of polishing,” Thomas added.

Source: Diamonds.net

Lucara finds blue and pink diamonds at Botswana mine

Canada’s Lucara Diamond continues to find gem quality, coloured diamonds at its Karowe mine, in Botswana, which in April yielded the 1,758 carat Sewelô meaning “rare find” diamond, the largest ever recovered in the African country.

The Vancouver based miner has now recovered a 9.74 carat blue and a 4.13 carat pink diamond from direct milling of the South Lobe, the area that yielded the famous 1,111 carat “Lesedi La Rona” in 2015.

The announcement comes on the heels of last week’s display of a 123 carat gem quality, top white, Type II diamond, found at the same section of the mine.

It also follows the recent sale of a 2.24 carat blue for $347,222 per carat.

Karowe, which began commercial operations in 2012, has this year yielded 22 diamonds larger than 100 carats, eight of them exceeding 200 carats.

Since the start of the year, the miner has sold 19 diamonds each with an individual price in excess of $1 million at its quarterly tender sales. This includes seven diamonds that fetched more than $2 million each, and one diamond that carried a final price tag of over $8 million.

“Lucara is extremely pleased with the recovery of these rare, sizeable, fancy coloured diamonds, which have the potential to contribute meaningful value to our regular production of large, high-value type IIa diamonds,” chief executive, Eira Thomas, said in the statement.

The precious rocks will be put up for sale in December, during the company’s fourth quarter tender.

Lucara, which has focused efforts on the prolific Botswana mine this year, is close to completing a feasibility study into potential underground production and life of mine expansion at Karowe.

Source: mining.com

Botswana Diamonds identifies five targets likely to be kimberlites

The targets identified are very similar to the pipe that constituted the high-grade and famous De Beers Marsfontein mine, in so much as the pipe had little surface indication due to dolerite rock cover but grew and swelled below the dolerite.

Much of the Thorny River area geology is comprised of a dolerite dyke swarm.

John Teeling, chairman, comments:

“It has long been held that there should be high grade kimberlite pipes other than the Marsfontein mine in the Thorny River area.

“The geology made discovery difficult. New geophysical technology tries to see through the dense dolerite cover.

“The company pioneering the work, Subterrane, believe they have identified five targets likely to be kimberlites.

“We are working to better define where to drill. The targets are shallow so will not be expensive to drill”.

Conventional geophysical techniques have been unable to detect kimberlites under the dolerite including those that are deeper seated. Subterrane, a partner using its proprietary technology, enables the company to explore geophysical anomalies beneath the dolerite and those that are buried.

This could lead to the discovery of kimberlites similar to Marsfontein.

Thus far Subterrane has identified five such target areas within the Thorny River project.

Source: miningreview

Botswana Diamonds Shares Jump On Licence Extension

Shares in Botswana Diamonds PLC jumped Thursday after it extended two “strategic” diamond licences for further two years, as it considered forming a joint venture to develop the projects.

Shares in Botswana Diamonds were 9.9% higher at 0.54 pence in London on Thursday.

Botswana Diamonds – through its wholly-owned Sunland Minerals Ltd subsidiary – extended the Prospecting Licences PL232 and PL235 in Botswana to the end of September 2021.

The firm explained the “key” licences were “strategically located” in the centre of the Kalahari Desert in Botswana, covering 500 square kilometres. Botswana Diamonds has already identified “prospective drill ready targets” following “intensive” work at the sites.

Botswana Diamonds said it was “already in extended discussions” with a “major” diamond producer regarding the formation of a joint venture for the next phase of the work on the licences.

Source: morningstar

De Beers Cuts Prices as Rough Sales Slide

De Beers’ rough-diamond sales slumped to a 20-month low of $390 million in June amid weak sentiment in the manufacturing sector. Sightholders noted the price cuts De Beers implemented on certain categories were not enough to stimulate demand.

“The reaction to the price adjustments was lukewarm,” observed one Antwerp-based manufacturer who attended last week’s sale in Gaborone. “It’s a case of too little, too late, as polished prices have declined and we’re not seeing the same movement in the rough market.”

De Beers reduced prices by an estimated 4% to 8% on low-quality and smaller stones, sight participants reported. Sightholders who spoke with Rapaport News expected the company would need to make further cuts later this year, but recognized it was unlikely to do so at the next sight.

“We don’t expect a correction in July because that will start a downward spiral,” said one India-based sightholder. “But people will refuse goods. The mood is not good, even after this month’s reduction, as manufacturers are under pressure.”

High inventory

De Beers CEO Bruce Cleaver noted that rough buyers were cautious in June due to higher-than-normal polished-diamond inventories in the midstream. The sight was the lowest on record by De Beers since October 2017, and sales were down 33% compared to last June.

Manufacturers have cut production by an estimated 20% to 30% this year to reduce those inflated inventory levels, sightholders estimated. They’ve also shifted their production to lower-value goods to keep workers busy at a minimal investment, one India-based sightholder added.

As a result, De Beers’ sales declined 18% to $2.38 billion in the first half of 2019, while Alrosa’s rough sales fell 35% to $1.46 billion in the first five months of the year, according to Rapaport calculations.

Midstream pressure

Meanwhile, Cleaver also noted the challenging environment in China was affecting sentiment in the diamond market, while the US retail environment remained solid. Polished trading at the Hong Kong Jewellery & Gem Fair, which ended Sunday, was quiet, dealers noted. Attendance was down amid the mass protests that have taken place in the city during June, but also because Chinese buyers are not looking to make large purchases.

“People are hesitant to buy in a downward-trending market because they don’t yet see a bottom,” explained one Hong Kong-based polished dealer. “The mood is not good.”

US orders are more consistent, observed a Mumbai-based sightholder. US retailers are not making major orders, but he expects that will start to happen in the next month or two. Diamond trading generally remains quiet in July, when most US wholesalers close for the summer vacation.

“We expect the market will stabilize in late July,” he said. “But the problem isn’t from the retail side. It’s the business-to-business (B2B) trading that is low and the manufacturing sector that is under pressure. People don’t want to do business in the rough market.”

Source: Diamonds.net

Tiffany Is Training Africans to Cut Diamonds Sourced From Region

Tiffany & Co. has been expanding its workforce in sub-Saharan Africa, a region of almost one billion people where the jewelry giant doesn’t have a single store.

More than a quarter of the New York based company’s 1,500 global diamond cutters and polishers are now based in Africa, Chief Executive Officer Alessandro Bogliolo said in an interview in Cape Town.

Tiffany has factories in Botswana and Mauritius with staff subject to “intensive training” over two years, he said, making it the only western luxury brand that doesn’t outsource production of its African stones.

Botswana is the world’s largest diamond producer after Russia, and is the only African country where Tiffany both buys and prepares its stones.

While it also sources diamonds from mines in South Africa, Namibia and Sierra Leone, it won’t do business in Zimbabwe and Angola because of the human-rights situation in those countries, Bogliolo said.

“If you buy from a world class brand, it’s because you trust that this brand has done all that is humanly possible to guarantee that the product is not only crafted to the highest standard, but also ethical and traceable in its manufacturing,’’ the CEO said.
Ethical Jewelry

The move to hire and train African polishers and cutters comes as Tiffany strives to be completely transparent about how its diamonds progress from deep underground to the engagement rings of wives to be. That’s in line with a wider trend in consumer goods industries to tap into demand for products that younger shoppers see as ethical.

This year, the company started to share the origin of its diamonds with customers, an initiative Bogliolo believes will push the entire industry to follow suit.

Tiffany has been trying to recoup sales that have been hit by a slowdown of Chinese tourist spending in the U.S., including an expansion of the business in Beijing and Shanghai.

While Bogliolo said the jeweler has a lot of customers in Africa, they’re forced to leave the continent to make purchases as the retailer’s only outlets there are in Egypt.

However, the CEO said South Africa is an “interesting market” where the company might eventually open at least one store.

“There’s no doubt that we will have a more robust presence on this continent,” he said. “It’s just a matter of finding the right location and the critical mass in order to have a sustainable business.”

Tiffany shares have gained 32 percent this year, valuing the company at $12.9 billion.

Source: bloomberg.com

Lucapa Diamond announced a 90% upsurge in Diamond Resource Carats at Lulo

The international diamond group, Lucapa Diamond Company Limited has high valued mines in Angola and Lesotho, with exploration projects in Australia, Botswana, and Angola.

The company on 21 March 2019, provided an update on Alluvial Diamond Resource for the Lulo diamond mine in Angola Lulo Diamond Resource. LOM is under the partnership with Rosas & Petalas and Empresa Nacional de Diamantes E.P.

Z Star Mineral Resource Consultants Limited, an External consultant of Cape Town, South Africa, independently estimated and reconciled The Lulo Diamond Resource, on a depletion and addition basis as on December 31, 2018.

The resource estimation comprised of 19 months of mining depletion at Lulo from May 31, 2017, to December 31, 2018. During, 19 months, more than 30,000 carats of diamonds were recovered and sold for approximately US$ 62 Mn.

This extensive ongoing resource definition, drilling and sampling program included an additional 4,200 auger holes 36,000 meters drilled.

The current sale of Diamond was estimated at prices above the previous resource estimation on May 31, 2017.

Source:kalkinemedia

De Beers, Botswana to expand world’s richest diamond mine

Botswana’s Debswana Diamond Mining, a joint venture between De Beers and the southern Africa country’s government, have awarded Thiess’ subsidiary CIMIC a $1.2-billion contract to extend the lifespan of their Jwaneng mine.

Jwaneng, which began operations in 1982, is currently 650 metres deep, but its owners want to deepen the pit to 830 meters (2,700 feet), which will allow continuing operations for another 11 years, to 2035, and extracting a further 53 million carats.

Debswana will invest approximately $2 billion over the life of the project, dubbed Cut 9, which involves removing waste from the bottom of the mine to both widen and deepen the pit.
“Jwaneng, which began operations in 1982, will continue in operations unit 2035.”

At its peak, Cut-9 is expected to create more than 1,000 jobs, the majority of which will be held by locals.

“With global consumer demand for diamonds reaching record levels in 2018, the extension will enable us to continue to meet the needs of our consumers all over the world,” Debswana’s chairman Bruce Cleaver said in the statement.

This is not the first time Debswana decides to invest in expanding Jwaneng, the world’s No.1 diamond producing mine by value, which contributes almost 70% of the partnership’s total revenue.

The company completed in November a $3-billion, 10-year-long expansion plan, Cut 8, which extended the lifespan of the mine to 2024.

Debswana was formed in 1969 as a 50/50 partnership between the Botswana’s government and De Beers Group. The unit is a significant contributor to the country’s economy with more than 80% of its profits going back to Botswana’s citizens.

Diamonds from Debswana bring in about 50% of public revenue, representing 33% of GDP and over 80% of foreign earnings to Botswana.

Source: mining.com

De Beers, Botswana Prep for New Sales Deal

Botswana once again finds itself at a crossroads. The sparsely populated, landlocked country is in a constant battle to ensure the longevity of its diamond industry.

Recognizing that diamond mining will not last forever, the government’s beneficiation program has sought to establish cutting and polishing, trading, and auxiliary services in an effort to diversify its industry — and economy — away from its reliance on the mining sector.

Beyond mining

De Beers, which counts around 59% of its production by value in Botswana, has played no small part in that effort. It did so initially by earmarking a part of its rough supply to be manufactured in Botswana, and today there are 18 sightholders with factories in the country. In 2013, De Beers moved its sales headquarters to Gaborone, meaning that its 10 annual sights were taken out of London, thus diverting traffic and diamond-related activity to the African city.

Furthermore, the establishment of the parastatal Okavango Diamond Company that same year gave the government access to 15% of production by Debswana, its joint mining venture with De Beers. That was the first time substantial rough sales from Debswana took place outside of the De Beers system.

The 2011 agreement that governed those developments is up for renewal in 2020, and negotiations are expected to begin in the coming year. For its part, the government is seeking to increase supply to local sightholders as a means of creating more jobs, newly elected President Mokgweetsi Masisi told Bloomberg in May.

Some question whether Botswana can handle more manufacturing, given that a few factories have closed in recent years. If profitability remains the biggest challenge facing manufacturers, Gaborone has yet to prove itself as a viable center for high-volume cutting. Perhaps De Beers can play a further role there, too.

The government will also likely want to increase the percentage of Debswana supply that Okavango receives. And it might want to renegotiate greater access to the large and high-value diamonds Debswana recovers.

Digging deep

Botswana has some leverage in the relationship with De Beers. It owns a 15% stake in the group, with Anglo American holding the remaining 85%. And the two are equal partners in Debswana and in DTC Botswana, which sorts and mixes production for De Beers and Okavango.

De Beers, meanwhile, brings to the table its mining expertise and budget. In 2010, it committed to investing $3 billion over 15 years in the Cut-8 expansion of the Jwaneng mine — considered the world’s most valuable diamond-producing asset.

That project is already the main source of ore at Jwaneng and is expected to extend the life of mine to 2030 and by some 93 million carats. Studies for the viability of Cut-9 are under way, which would further extend the life of Jwaneng. A final investment decision on the project is expected later this year, reports a De Beers spokesperson.

De Beers could use the potential Cut-9 investment, as well as funding extensions at the Orapa and Letlhakane mines, as a bargaining tool in negotiations with the government.

African investments

De Beers walks a similarly fine line in other African countries where it operates.

In South Africa, it may have to reduce ownership of its local businesses from 74% to 70% under the new mining charter, as the government wants to see more local black economic empowerment (BEE) involvement. That said, De Beers is engaged in a $2 billion project to develop underground mining at the Venetia asset. From next year, Venetia will be its only mine in South Africa, as it plans to close the Voorspoed mine. It has already sold the Finsch, Cullinan and Kimberley operations over the past decade.

Meanwhile, in May 2016, De Beers signed a 10-year sales agreement with Namibia, in which it ceded 15% of local supply to the government and promised more diamonds to local cutters. The company subsequently announced major investments in its marine mining operations off the Namibian coast.

It’s that give-and-take that Masisi is hoping will result in a “win-win” for both parties as they negotiate their next long-term deal — especially given that so much of Botswana’s future diamond production depends on Jwaneng’s expansion.

“We have had a wonderful relationship with De Beers, and we expect that relationship to be even more cemented,” the president told Bloomberg in May. “The returns [from the Jwaneng development] are going to be realized in the period of the next deal. This is a marriage we’re after.”

This article was first published in the July issue of Rapaport Magazine.

Third largest diamond ever for Lucara Diamonds

Karowe diamond mine located in Botswana has recovered a 472 carat, top light brown gem diamond.

The Rough Diamond will be sold with other exceptional stones recovered this year as part of the first large stone tender in 2018.

In 2018 The Karowe mine will focus on the high value south lobe area which consistently delivers, large high quality diamonds in excess of 10 carats in size.