Diamond News Archives

US 10-year breakeven inflation expectations hit more than 2-year highs, boosting precious metal markets.

Gold climbed to a eight-week high, topping $1,900 an ounce, as lower U.S. real yields and a weaker dollar helped the metal build on the biggest annual advance in a decade. Silver jumped, while platinum was little changed after touching the highest since 2016.

(IDEX Online)- Lucapa today announced the recovery of yet another +100-carat diamond, its 17th since commercial operations began at Lulo, in Angola, five years ago.

The Australian miner said it was significant that the 113-carat gem-quality white stone (pictured) was found in a new focus area of its kimberlite exploration program, indicating there may be more large and high-value diamonds.

Lucapa, one of the world's highest per-carat alluvial diamond producers, said it had been recovered from Mining Block 46, immediately downstream of the Canguige river. 

"This recovery builds on the performance of Lulo in the latter half of 2020 and bodes well for the coming months as mining focuses on the southern terrace mining blocks during the wet season," said the company in a statement. 

The miner restructured $13m of loan repayments last August after the pandemic saw its rough sales plunge by 80 per cent....

(IDEX Online) - Operations at India's only industrial mine - located near a tiger reserve -  have come to halt.

The environmental clearance lease, allowing mining to take place at the Majhgawan mine (pictured), near the town of Panna, in Madhya Pradesh, expired on 31 December 2020.

It has been reported that COVID-19 has delayed renewal of the lease and work is not likely to resume for up to six months as a result of wildlife concerns.

The mine, estimated to have reserves of 34m carats, belongs to India's state-owned National Mineral Development Corporation (NMDC) and was operated until 2017 by Rio Tinto.

Mining has been halted on several occasions at Majhgawan because of concerns by the National Wildlife Board. It sought to have the mine cease operations by the end of last year.

There are around 1,000 licensed artisanal mines in the area, and many more that operate illegally. Majhgawan is the only mine run on industrial scale....