Rough Diamonds – Page 48 – The Diamond Certification Laboratory of Australia (DCLA)

Botswana Diamonds picks up high potential kimberlite pipe in South Africa

Botswana Diamonds has been awarded the priority 2.5 ha Mooikloof kimberlite pipe concession. Using recently developed exploration techniques it will re-assess this high potential pipe.

The award of the Mooikloof Prospecting Licence is an important development for Botswana Diamonds.

Mooikloof was last prospected in 1986. The adjacent Oaks mine was owned and successfully operated by De Beers. The Oaks mine had a grade of 53 cpht at a value of $156 per carat.

The large flagship Venetia mine, operated by De Beers, is close by and in the same general geology.

Based on Botswana Diamond’s experience elsewhere, it suspects that past explorers may have systematically under estimated the kimberlite pipe size, grade and diamond quality of the Mooikloof kimberlite.

It will deploy state of the art exploration techniques to reassess the Mooikloof kimberlite, and maybe open another by passed kimberlite pipe development.

Botswana Diamonds has now received the Technical Economic Evaluation Report on the Thorny River Project.

The deposit is between 1.2 and 2 Mt, the grade is between 46 and 74 cpht and carat values between US$120 and $220 per carat.

The Technical Economic Evaluation Report indicated positive economics could potentially be achieved using the top end of the grade and value ranges, assuming additional kimberlite volume of similar grade and value can be defined with further exploration.

While not a Scoping Study as Botswana Diamonds had previously envisaged in the announcements dated 15 February 2018 and 21 March 2018, the Technical Economic Evaluation Report has provided the company’s directors with sufficient information to conclude that the Thorny River Project requires further investigation.

Consequently, the directors are considering the company’s various technical and commercial options, which will be studied simultaneously with ongoing exploration.

Drilling at Ontevreden confirmed the existence of a kimberlite pipe, but showed the pipe to be smaller than the previously indicated geophysical anomaly.

Given Botswana Diamond’s attractive priorities elsewhere, it now proposes no further work on Ontevreden.

“Significant progress has been made on our joint venture projects in South Africa,” comments Botswana Diamonds chairman, John Teeling.

“Analysis shows that a mine on the Thorny River deposit could be profitable assuming positive results from additional exploration. Now we must refine the volume, grade and value estimates while working on the mining model.

“But modern mineral exploration technology is not a magic bullet. Modern geophysics indicated a 0.7 ha pipe at Ontevreden. Our drilling confirmed a smaller pipe, which is not currently commercial”.

Source: miningreview

Date set for Mugabe diamonds hearing

A Zimbabwe parliament committee has summoned former president Robert Mugabe to give evidence on Wednesday about diamond corruption alleged to have cost billions of dollars during his rule.

Mugabe, who was ousted from office in November after a brief military takeover, has not commented on whether he will appear before the committee.

A parliamentary notice for May 23 was released on Monday.

“Subject to confirmation, oral evidence from His Excellency, the former president of the Republic of Zimbabwe, comrade RG Mugabe, on diamond mining revenues,” it read.

Mugabe, 94, who is in frail health, was also called to give evidence last month but the meeting was postponed.

Lawmakers plan to question Mugabe over his 2016 claim that the country had lost $15 billion in revenue due to corruption and foreign exploitation in the diamond sector.

No one in Mugabe’s office was available to confirm whether he would appear.

The former president, whose own regime was accused of syphoning off diamond profits, has described his ousting as a coup.

He has not been seen in public since November, though he hosted a private birthday party in February at “Blue Roof” – the lavish mansion where he and his wife Grace, 52, have been living in apparent seclusion in recent months.

Mugabe was replaced by his former deputy Emmerson Mnangagwa, a veteran loyalist in the ruling ZANU-PF party who was backed by senior military officers.

Zimbabwe discovered alluvial diamonds in Chiadzwa, in the east of the country, over 10 years ago.

Rights groups have accused security forces of using brutal methods to control the scattered deposits.

The parliament committee, headed by independent MP Temba Mliswa, has already interviewed former ministers, police and intelligence chiefs on mining at Chiadzwa.

Zimbabwe is due to hold elections in July or August, the first since Mugabe was unseated, with the Zanu-PF widely predicted to retain power.

AFP

Lucara Diamond Corp. Finds 327-Carat Top White Gem At Karowe Mine

Lucara Diamond Corporation has recovered a 327 carat top colour gem diamond from its one hundred percent owned Karowe diamond mine in Botswana.

Eight rough diamonds larger than 100 carats have now been recovered at Karowe since the beginning of the year, including a 472 carat rough diamond announced earlier this month.

De Beers to Sell Diamonds from Artisanal Miners

De Beers announced plans to work with artisanal miners in Sierra Leone to ensure their diamonds are ethically sourced and sold at a fair price on its auction platform.

The company has partnered with the Diamond Development Initiative (DDI) on the project, known as GemFair, which is set to launch a pre-pilot phase this month. GemFair will provide tracking technology to artisanal and small-scale miners (ASM), aiming to create a secure and transparent route to market for their diamonds, De Beers said in a statement last week.

“The ASM sector represents a critical income source for many poverty-affected communities,” said De Beers CEO Bruce Cleaver. “However, due to parts of the sector being largely informal and unregulated, it lacks access to established international markets and the ability to derive fair value for participants.”

De Beers hopes the new project will help grow acceptance and prospects for artisanal miners, in addition to creating a new supply source for the company, Cleaver added.

Miners who want to participate in the program need to receive certification from the DDI as well as from GemFair. Participants will then be given a diamond “toolkit,” which includes technology enabling them to digitally track all stones throughout the supply chain.

Once the initiative is operational, GemFair will begin buying stones from participating miners, which will then be sold via De Beers’ Auction Sales channel.

De Beers has not set a date for the pilot’s completion, but hopes to make the first purchase later this year.

Source: Diamonds.net

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.

Diamond Miner Gem Diamonds Finding More Huge Stones

Gem Diamonds has recovered another 100 carat plus rough diamond this year.

The recovery of the D colour type IIa stone shortly after the recovery of a 910 carat D colour IIa rough diamond from Letšeng last week.

Gem Diamonds began extracting ore from a higher grade part of Letšeng last year, resulting in the increase of large stones.

Gem Diamonds Letseng mine is located in the mountainous kingdom of Lesotho in southern Africa.

Rough Demand Stable at $450M De Beers Sight

De Beers South Africa mining staff Venetia

De Beers reported steady demand for rough diamonds at its December sight as sales showed an increase over the equivalent period last year.

The miner sold $450 million worth of rough in its final sales cycle of the year, including last week’s sight in Gaborone and its auctions, it reported Tuesday. Provisional proceeds rose 6.6% compared with actual sales for the same period last year, though they slipped 3.4% from November sales.

$33.8 Million For The 163 Carat Flawless Diamond At Geneva Auction

163ct De Grisogono Emerald Shape Diamond

The largest diamond offered at an auction went under the hammer in Geneva Tuesday setting a world record for a diamond of its shape.

The D colour 11A type flawless diamond was Polished from a 404 carat rough diamond which was recovered in February 2016 in the Lulo mine in Angola.

The 163.41 carat called The Art of Grisogono, sold for $33.8 million, after taxes and commissions, at the Christie’s autumn jewellery auction.

Three large diamonds Recovered at Jubilee Pipe

Alrosa the Russian miner and top diamond producer by output, recovered three gem quality large rough diamonds.

A 82.82 carat, a 108.34 carat, and a 163.11 carat all light yellow or yellow.

All three rough diamonds were recovered at the Jubilee kimberlite pipe, one of Alrosa’s Mining units Aikhalsky in the country’s northeast.

The three diamonds will be sent to Alrosa’s for assessment in the coming days.

De Beers Will Close Four Namibian Diamond Mines

Due to resources dwindling Beers’ joint ventures will close four diamond mines by 2022.

Namdeb is a DeBeers project with the government of Namibia, Will close the Elizabeth Bay mine at the end of 2018 followed by the Daberas deposit at the end of 2019 and Sendelingsdrif in 2020. The main asset Southern Coastal will close in 2022.

Production saw a shift to offshore assets this past year. For the first nine months of 2017, Debmarine’s production surged 22% to 1.1 million carats.

Subdued world economic growth will make the next few years challenging, mainly due to negative impacts forecast in exchange rates and other indices.