Diamond News Archives
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(IDEX Online) - The Gahcho Kue diamond mine in Canada has suspended all operations after six workers tested positive for COVID-19.
It follows a separate outbreak involving workers on contractor-operated winter road 25 miles away, although health officials do not believe the two are linked.
The 335 workers currently at the mine (pictured), in Northwest Territories, have been confined to their rooms, "except to use the washroom and for scheduled meal times".
In addition, 47 workers identified as potential contacts of those who have the virus are in isolation.
"The health and safety of our employees and contractors are our first priority so we made the immediate decision to stop mining and processing of ore … until we determine a safe path forward," Lyndon Clark, the mine's general manager, in a press statement.
Gahcho Kue is jointly owned by De Beers (51 per cent) and Mountain Province Diamonds (49 per cent).
Unlike the nearby Ekati mine (now owned by Arctic) which closed as the pandemic hit in March 2020, Gahcho Kue has, until now, remained operational....
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(IDEX Online) - The global diamond industry proved resilient in 2020, despite a 20 per cent drop in rough production and a fall of 15 per cent in diamond jewelry sales. And it is poised for recovery in 2021.
Those are among the key findings of the comprehensive 54-page Tenth Annual Global Diamond Report 2020-2021, published today by the business consultants Bain & Company and the Antwerp World Diamond Centre's (AWDC).
It says diamond jewelry outperformed the luxury sector in general, suffering a 15 per cent drop compared to 22 per cent.
Consumers who couldn't travel bought gems instead and around 20 per cent of diamond sales were online, compared to 13 per cent in 2019.
Most miners reported rough diamond prices up between five and eight per cent in January, and the majors maintained a flexible sales policy which contributed to a strong start to 2021.
Demand returned during the fourth quarter of 2020, culminating in a strong holiday season across the globe, said the report's authors.
"The industry proved its resilience in the face of an economic downturn as consumers continue to see its value. The boost was driven by holiday jewelry sales, particularly in the US and China," they said.
Rough diamond production fell to to 111 million carats - having peaked at 152 million carats in 2017 - but the mix of diamonds remained largely constant, with medium and large diamonds accounting for 25 per cent of production volume in carats (70 to 80 per cent in value in US dollars).
"The diamond industry has shown remarkable agility in the face of a crisis and the pace of change has accelerated," said...
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