Diamond News Archives

The immutable mathematics of more than a quarter-century of declining yields amid a bull market in fixed income explains why fund managers of all flavors have been compelled to take on more risk to juice their returns, stoking concern about bubbles in everything from stocks to junk debt to Bitcoin.

Jeff Clark spoke at the Vancouver Resource Investment Conference earlier this month, they talked about expectations for gold and silver this year, the jump coming in silver demand, along with some of Jeff's personal mining stocks. NOTE: Jeff's picks are his own and should not be construed as advice in any way

From the mania engulfing GameStop Corp. and penny stocks to the explosive growth of SPACs, a nervous question is starting to make the rounds within American finance: Will the next sheriff of Wall Street be able to tame these wild markets?

(IDEX Online) - De Beers has revised down its production guidance for 2021 by three per cent, blaming operational issues and lower output at its Venetia mine, in South Africa, rather than a Covid-related lack of demand.

Its forecast is now down by a million carats at 32m to 34m carats, rather than the original 33m to 35m carats.

Parent company Anglo American says in its Production Report Q4 2020 that output last year totaled 25.1m carats, down 18 per cent on 30.8m carats in 2019.

It blamed lower demand as a result of the Covid pandemic and operational challenges at Orapa, Botswana.

It's the second time De Beers has cut its 2021 forecast. It lowered the figure last month from $34m to $36m.

Rough diamond sales continued to improve, the company said, with midstream demand supported by an encouraging holiday selling season for diamond jewelry.

The ongoing $2bn expansion at Venetia - from open-pit to underground - will impact its production during 2021, but extend its life to 2046.

Mark Cutifani, chief executive of Anglo American, said: "As we begin 2021, we are continuing to see positive demand for rough diamonds, supported by consumer demand for diamond jewellery in the holiday selling season. 

"While it is still too early to signal a strong and sustained recovery, the resilience in demand in spite of ongoing Covid-19 impacts is very encouraging."

Pic shows Venetia mine...