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Deloitte to liquidate dodgy Australian diamond miner

Consultants from Deloitte have been tapped to oversee a third high profile administration in weeks. In the firm’s latest restructuring win, Deloitte Financial Advisory has been appointed by the Federal Court of Australia as a provisional liquidator of Merlin Diamonds.

The appointment comes after the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), an independent Australian government body that acts as Australia’s corporate regulator, asked the Court to wound up Merlin Diamonds, which is the parent of Merlin diamond mine in the Northern Territory, about 80 kilometres south of Borroloola.

The Merlin diamond mine was discovered more than 25 years ago, and first went into operation in 2000. Shortly after opening, the site yielded Australia’s largest diamond, a 104.73 carat stone back ten valued at over half a million US dollar’s. In 2017, the site also yielded a 35.26-carat rough brown diamond believed to be the fifth largest stone discovered in the country.

Under the ownership of Merlin Diamonds previous owners include Ashton Mining, Rio Tinto and North Australian Diamonds the mine’s total production however never reached the targets set. The Merlin diamond mine is currently one of only three diamond mines in Australia, and was set to become Australia’s last operating diamond mine when the Argyle mine in Western Australia ceases operation next year.

In October, ASIC kicked off a probe into a $13 million loan from the mining group to a private company associated to the diamond producer’s owner. The owner of Merlin Diamonds, mining magnate Joseph Gutnick, had in recent years completed a number of such loans and has proven unwilling or incapable of repaying the loans.

The instigation came shortly after an arbitration was started in Western Australia and the Northern Territory by former contractors and employees of Merlin Diamonds, who claim that they are owed more than $1.2 million in payments. Shares of Merlin Diamonds were suspended from trading last year after its management failed to file a quarterly report with the Australian Securities Exchange.

Provisional liquidation

Based on ASIC’s claim that there is a “justifiable lack of confidence in the directors’ conduct and their ability to manage Merlin’s affairs in the best interests of its shareholders and creditors”, the Court has pushed Merlin Diamonds into provisional liquidation.

Deloitte Financial Advisory has been tasked with assessing the financial situation, shedding light on the status of the loan portfolio, and drafting a plan on how to redeem stakeholders. Meanwhile, future options for the Merlin Diamonds and the Merlin diamond mine will be explored.

Earlier this month, restructuring experts from Deloitte were tapped to manage the wind-down of Karen Millen in Australia. The firm’s consultants further played their part in completing the sale of collapsed SME lender Axsesstoday.

Source: consultancy

Synova Launches Automated Diamond Cutter

A technology provider part-owned by De Beers has unveiled an automated cutting machine that, it claims, will significantly speed up diamond manufacturing and reduce costs.

Synova’s DaVinci system is the market’s first automated instrument that can produce all 57 facets of a round brilliant diamond in one process, the Swiss company said Thursday. The user only needs to perform one final polishing stage to finish the stone.

“Several cost, skill and labor intensive steps in the polishing phase, such as crown and pavilion blocking, girdle bruting or recurrent quality checks, become redundant,” noted Bernold Richerzhagen, Synova’s founder and CEO.

The machine, currently intended for rough stones from 0.50 to 10 carats, gives manufacturers increased flexibility to adapt their production levels to business needs, such as seasonal demand, Synova explained.

It also gives better symmetry and a higher and more predictable polished yield, and uses water jet technology to reduce the risk of diamond cracking, the company asserted. It’s based on its existing DCS 50 cutting machine.

De Beers bought a 33% stake in Synova in 2015, pledging to work with the company to develop a fully automated cutting and shaping solution. The miner has made diamonds available for some of the machine testing.

Source: Diamonds.net

De Beers Finds Buyer for Namibia Mine

De Beers has sold the Elizabeth Bay mine for $8.2 million USD, a year after it ceased operations at the deposit.

The miner chose Lewcor Group, a 100% Namibian owned consortium, following an extensive search for a new owner that would be able to operate the mine — part of its Namdeb joint venture with the government of Namibia in a sustainable way, and would also retain De Beers’ employees and contribute economic value to Namibia, it said last week. However, the amount of the transaction could increase to $12.4 million USD, as Namdeb will earn a share of revenue from the sale of diamonds recovered from certain marine mining areas.

“Throughout this process, our objective has been to create the best possible circumstances for reopening the operations, recreating jobs and growing empowered participation in Namibia’s diamond industry,” said Chris Nghaamwa, chairman of Namdeb. “A rigorous, independently advised process enabled Namdeb to select a company with not only the right mining and financial credentials, but also a commitment to meet future social and environmental obligations.”

De Beers ceased operations at the site in September 2018. Although the mine still contains a viable supply of diamonds, output failed to meet the company’s needs and it could no longer run the deposit economically, it said.

Source: diamonds.net

In Madhya Pradesh, labourer digs up 2 diamonds in one week

A labourer in Bundelkhand region turned second time lucky when he got another diamond within a week in a piece of land he took on lease from the district administration in Panna district. The value of the diamond is estimated at about Rs 20 lakh, a mineral resources department official said.

The lessee, Kishor Kushwaha, a resident of Sarkoha village got the diamond of 5.69 carat in a field in the area in Panna district. He deposited it with the mineral resources department office on Saturday, said Panna diamond office authority Anupam Singh.

Panna district, 413 km north east of Bhopal in Bundelkhand region, has the only diamond producing mine in the country, which is under operation, as per the department officials.

Panna diamond office authority Anupam Singh said, “The diamond that the lessee has found may get him about Rs 20 lakh on its auction. Earlier, the same person got a diamond of 4.4 carat about a week back, which was, however, of better quality and was valued about at Rs 20 to Rs 25 lakh. The lessee was assisted by three others in his work.”

The labourer got the piece of land on lease on March 1, 2019 and the lease period will expire on December 31, 2019. “It rarely happens when a person gets another diamond twice within a week or so,” he said.

Talking to the media Kishor said, “I am extremely happy that Mother Earth blessed me with this gift of diamonds. I make both ends meet by doing labour work. I will share whatever money I get with my partners Ajay Singh, Mahadev Kushwaha, Purshotam Lal and Vimal who also put in hard labour.”

He said he wanted to spend the money on education of his children.

Source: hindustantimes

ALROSA SELLS $2.2 MILLION OF POLISHED AT ISRAEL DIAMOND EXCHANGE

Alrosa sold 14 polished diamonds weighing a total of 108 carats, and 48 fancy colored polished diamonds weighing 131.6 carats in total.

Companies from Israel, the US, Belgium, India, Hong Kong and Russia participated in the tender. The next polished tender in Israel is scheduled for this fall.

Pavel Vinikhin, Director of the DIAMONDS ALROSA cutting division, commented: “There is a continued interest in large polished diamonds over 3 carats in the market. Our assortment mostly consists of such stones.

In Israel, we presented polished diamonds of different colors and cuts. Despite the relatively weak market, the auction went well, and we are pleased with the results”.

Miner Petra Diamonds sells its 425 carat legacy diamond

Petra Diamonds said on Tuesday it sold its 425-carat ‘Legacy of the Cullinan Diamond Mine’ diamond to Belgium-based Stargems Group for $15 million.

The miner, which recovered the diamond at its flagship Cullinan mine in March, said the sale was significant for the company.

Petra has been struggling to clear its multi-million-dollar debts after it borrowed heavily to revamp the Cullinan facility and began mining a new section of ore last July.

However, Cullinan has been profitable every year since Petra acquired it in 2008 and the mine is expected to generate free cash flow this year.

Gem Diamonds nets $8.8 million for 13.3 carat pink

Africa-focused Gem Diamonds has sold a 13.33 carat pink diamond recovered at its flagship Letšeng mine in Lesotho last month for $8.8 million.

The high quality pink colour type I diamond sold at a tender in Antwerp, Belgium, achieving a record price per carat of almost $657,000.

The Letšeng mine is well known for yielding some extraordinary diamonds, At an average elevation of 3,100 metres above sea level, Letšeng is also one of the world’s highest diamond mines.

According to market analysts, the average price for pink, yellow, blue and green stones has risen consistently by 12% a year over the last few decades, driven by consumer demand for exotic and unusual diamonds. This means they are less affected by other factors driving general diamonds’ supply and demand.

Lucara recovers 240-ct gem from Karowe

Earlier this month, Lucara Diamond Corp. recovered a 127 carat top white diamond from its Karowe mine. And the good new just keeps coming. This time the company has recovered a 240 carat top white gem from the same mine.

Since mining began in 2012 at Karowe, a total of 43 diamonds heavier than 200 carats have been recovered, including 12 stones larger than 300 carats.

Lucara CEO Eira Thomas commented, “This top white 240 carat gem diamond was mined from the M/PK(S) unit within the South lobe, providing continuing confirmation that large, high quality gem diamonds are recovered throughout the kimberlite, in all lobes and phases on a regular basis.”

Petra Diamonds shares fall on lower diamond prices at flagship mine

Shares of Petra Diamonds Ltd slid as much as 10 percent on Monday after lower diamond prices at its flagship Cullinan mine and an increase in net debt took the shine off higher half-year revenue.

The company has been trying to keep a lid on debt after heavy investments and a stronger South African rand had burdened the miner, which pays in rands and earns in dollars.

Petra’s net debt jumped to $557.2 million (422.06 million pounds) in the six months to Dec. 31 from $538.9 million as at Sept. 30. The company was forced to raise $178 million last May by issuing equity to cut its debt burden.

Rough diamond prices fell to $96 per carat from $140 per carat in the previous year at the Cullinan mine, which in 1905 yielded the Cullinan diamond the largest rough gem diamond ever found and now part of the Crown Jewels of the United Kingdom.

“The significantly lower realised Cullinan pricing and the impact on cashflow generation sees us take renewed caution,” said RBC, which cut the miner’s price target to 40 pence from 65 pence after the company’s half-year report.

Petra posted an 8 percent jump in revenue to $207.1 million, about 10 percent below RBC forecasts of $230 million, hurt by lower pricing at Cullinan. The company stuck to its production forecast 3.8 – 4.0 million carats for fiscal 2019.

Shares of the miner, which runs four mines in South Africa and one in Tanzania, were 8.5 percent lower at 41.12 pence.

Source: Euronews

LUCAPA TO SELL LARGE AND EXCEPTIONAL DIAMONDS IN “HISTORIC” AUCTION

Lucapa Diamond Company, owner and operator of the Lulo mine in Angola, will sell seven large and exceptional Lulo diamonds an “historic inaugural international tender under Angola’s new diamond marketing laws” in January.

The auction, which will be held at the offices of Sodiam Angolan state diamond marketing company in Luanda, will feature “major international diamantaires and large stone manufacturers”. The seven Lulo diamonds to be offered at tender include Type IIa D colour white gems of up to 114 carats and a 46 carat pink diamond.

In its latest diamond sale, held in late November, Lucapa raked in $4.2 million from the sale of 3,411 carats. The sale achieved an average price per carat of $1,220. The sale has brought the total year-to-date sales of Lulo diamonds to $24.5 million at an average price of $1,353 per carat.

Source: israelidiamond