Diamond News Archives

(IDEX Online) - A human rights watchdog claims seven people have been killed and 41 injured by security staff at Petra Diamond's Williamson mine, in Tanzania.

It alleges there has been a catalog of "killings and brutal assaults" involving local artisanal miners since Petra acquired the deposit from De Beers in 2009. The government of Tanzania holds a 25 per cent stake in the mine.

The report by RAID, a UK-based charity, claims people have been "shot with little or no warning, stabbed, detained, stripped, beaten, incarcerated for days in a filthy and cramped holding cell by the mine's entrance, deprived of food and medical treatment, and/or handcuffed to hospital beds at the mine's medical facility."

The mine's approach to artisanal mining had been "ruthless and militaristic", it says.

"Based on extensive field research RAID has found evidence indicating that since Petra Diamonds acquired the Williamson mine in 2009, there have been at least seven killings and 41 assaults of local residents, many leading to life-changing injuries," says the report, based on more than 14 months of research and 118 interviews..

RAID makes the claims in a 76-page report published today entitled The Deadly Cost of "Ethical Diamonds" - Human Rights Abuses at Petra Diamonds' Tanzanian Mine.

In statement the UK-based miner as saying it found the allegations of human rights abuses to be "deeply concerning". 

It said it took the matter very seriously and had suspended the mine chief security officer and the support services manager at Williamson Diamonds Limited (WDL), the subsidiary that operates the mine.

It also said it had been engaging and cooperating with RAID since being made aware of the allegations on 29 August...

(IDEX Online) - The largest vivid purple-pink diamond ever to appear at auction has sold for a record $26.6m.

The ultra-rare 14.83-carat, internally flawless, oval-cut The Spirit of the Rose (pictured) went to an anonymous phone bidder yesterday at Sotheby's Geneva.

It was cut from a 27.85-carat clear pink rough stone unearthed at Alrosa's Ebelyakh deposit in the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia), northeast of Russia in July 2017.  

The fancy vivid purple-pink diamond was named after "Le Spectre de la rose" (The Spirit of the Rose), an acclaimed ballet premiered by the Ballets Russes company.

Benoit Repellin, head of Sotheby's Geneva 'Magnificent Jewels' auction, said: "The Spirit of the Rose caught the imagination of everyone who had the chance to see it. With its size, beautiful colour, perfect cut and oval shape, it is a wonder of nature, steeped in Russia's century-long diamond tradition and cultural heritage.

"Pink diamonds, perhaps more than any other coloured diamond, have captured the imagination of collectors for centuries, making up five out of the 10 most valuable diamonds ever sold at auction."

Alrosa cutting masters spent a whole year turning the diamond into its polished form. They chose the oval shape to achieve maximum size, with dozens of facets to emphasize the stone's gentle, rose-petal color.  Before The Spirit of the Rose was unearthed, Alrosa's largest pink gem weighed 3.86 carats....