Diamond News Archives

A bank deposit is not itself money and will only be paid and received in lieu of money as long as the public does not have the slightest doubt in the banks.

(IDEX Online) - Mountain Province today said 2020 revenue from its Gahcho Kue mine, in Canada, was down more than a fifth on the previous year. But it recovered well in Q4.

The miner said March to September were particularly tough, as the pandemic put the market under unprecedented pressure, but the outlook for 2021 was "more positive".

Mountain Province's revenue share from the mine, which it operates jointly with De Beers, was $171.3m for FY2020, down 21.5 per cent from $208.2m in FY2019.

But it rallied in the fourth quarter, outperforming the same period year-on-year. In Q4 of 2020 it sold 957,120 carats sold at an average $65 per carat, for total of $61.7m. By comparison, in Q4 2091 it sold 771,799 carats sold at an average $64 per carat for a total of $49.2m.

Throughout the year Mountain Province recovered 6,518,261 carats, down four per cent on 2019. But production fell off in Q4, down 23 per cent to 1,521,617 carats.  

 

"Sentiment in the rough diamond market was more positive towards the end of 2020 and has remained so as the market prepares for the first selling cycle of 2021," it said in its Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2020 Production Results.

Stuart Brown, president and CEO, said: "Under very difficult circumstances, all driven by COVID-19, the Gahcho Kué Mine has performed well in being able to maintain production albeit at a reduced level and came very close to the revised guidance in tonnes mined and treated and exceeded the revised guidance target for carats recovered." 

Gahcho Kue, an open pit operation approximately 280 km northeast of Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, began commercial production in March 2017....

Euro-zone monetary policy is subsidizing the finance industry to such a degree that national central banks are having to curtail the cash distributions they normally hand to governments.

(IDEX Online) - A diamond security firm says it can now apply the smallest ever logo or characters below the surface of a diamond.

They have a diameter of just a micron (0.001mm) and are visible only at 100 times magnification.

UK-based Opsydia says its technology works on even the highest-clarity gem - with virtually no impact on its grade. 

It applies a nano-scale logo, serial number or encrypted code that links to a diamond's grading report, blockchain record or branded jewelry origins. 

Opsydia says Swiss Gemmological Institute (SSEF) had independently verified its claim that the identifier had only a "negligible impact" on a diamond's clarity grade.

CEO Andrew Rimmer said: "This is a vital milestone for Opsydia as it means every diamond, no matter its clarity or size, can be secured with an identity feature beneath its surface."...