Africa-focused Gem Diamonds (LON:GEMD) has sold a 13.33 carat pink diamond recovered at its flagship Letšeng mine in Lesotho last month for $8.8 million.
The high-quality pink colour type I diamond sold at a tender in Antwerp, Belgium, achieving a record price per carat of almost $657,000.
Letšeng mine is well-known for yielding some extraordinary diamonds, such as the 910-carat “Lesotho Legend”, which sold for $40 million last year.
The sale comes just a day after the company disappointed investors by withholding its 2018 full-year dividend, even though it reported a sharp increase in annual profit due to record recoveries of large diamonds.
The Letšeng mine is well-known for yielding some extraordinary diamonds, including the 910-carat “Lesotho Legend”, which sold for $40 million last year. The precious rock was the world’s fifth-largest ever found.
Since acquiring the operation in 2006, Gem Diamonds has unearthed five of the 20 largest white gem quality diamonds ever recovered, which makes the mine the world’s highest dollar per carat kimberlite diamond operation.
At an average elevation of 3,100 metres (10,000 feet) above sea level, Letšeng is also one of the world’s highest diamond mines.
According to market analysts, the average price for pink, yellow, blue and green stones has risen consistently by 12% a year over the last few decades, driven by consumer demand for exotic and unusual diamonds. This means they are less affected by other factors driving general diamonds’ supply and demand.
Currently, the global market for polished coloured diamonds is dominated by Rio Tinto and Anglo American's De Beers.
(Bloomberg) -- The number of wealthy households in the U.S. reached a new high last year, roughly equivalent to the entire population of Sweden or Portugal.
More than 10.2 million households had a net worth of $1 million to $5 million, not including the value of their primary residence, according to a survey by the Spectrem Group. That’s up 2.5 percent from 2017.
Even as the ranks of the mass affluent grew, the pace slowed because of “weakening global economic growth and a contentious U.S. political environment,” said Spectrem Group President George Walper.
Ultra-high net worth households -- those with assets between $5 million and $25 million -- increased 3.7 percent to about 1.4 million in number, while those in excess of $25 million grew by about 0.6 percent to 173,000,...
Africa-focused Gem Diamonds (LON:GEMD) has sold a 13.33 carat pink diamond recovered at its flagship Letšeng mine in Lesotho last month for $8.8 million.
The high-quality pink colour type I diamond sold at a tender in Antwerp, Belgium, achieving a record price per carat of almost $657,000.
Letšeng mine is well-known for yielding some extraordinary diamonds, such as the 910-carat “Lesotho Legend”, which sold for $40 million last year.
The sale comes just a day after the company disappointed investors by withholding its 2018 full-year dividend, even though it reported a sharp increase in annual profit thanks to record recoveries of large diamonds.
Letšeng mine is well-known for yielding some extraordinary diamonds, including the 910-carat “Lesotho Legend”, which sold for $40 million last year. The precious rock was the world’s fifth-largest ever found.
Since acquiring the operation in 2006, Gem Diamonds has unearthed five of the 20 largest white gem quality diamonds ever recovered, which makes the mine the world’s highest dollar per carat kimberlite diamond operation.
At an average elevation of 3,100 metres (10,000 feet) above sea level, Letšeng is also one of the world’s highest diamond mines.
According to market analysts, the average price for pink, yellow, blue and green stones has risen consistently by 12% a year over the last few decades, driven by consumer demand for the exotic and unusual. This means they are less affected by other factors driving general diamonds’ supply and demand.
Currently, the global market for polished coloured diamonds is dominated by Rio Tinto and Anglo American's De Beers.
Researchers of the Fraser Institute reported that for the first time in more than five years, all three territories in Canada’s north are among the top 15 most attractive regions for mining investment worldwide. This includes areas that hold potential for investments in diamond mining.
Every year, the Fraser Institute surveys miners around the world to determine which jurisdictions are attractive – or unattractive – for investment based on policies and geology. The survey spotlights policies (taxes, duplicative regulations, availability of labor and skills, etc.) that govern the mining industry and impact the investment attractiveness of jurisdictions.
In their article, the institute’s researchers Ashley Stedman and Elmira Aliakbari wrote that all three territories improved their rank this year, largely because investors view the North’s mineral potential more favorably. The Northwest Territories rose from 21st last year in overall attractiveness to 10th this year, Yukon rose from 13th to ninth, and Nunavut improved its rank from 26th to 15th.
The authors noted that late last year Dominion Diamond and the Rio Tinto Group found the largest diamond ever discovered in North America – a 552-carat yellow gem at the Diavik mine in the N.W.T. The diamond is almost three times larger than the next largest stone ever found in Canada.
“While mines in Canada’s North produce some high-quality diamonds, this was a unique find especially given that diamond mining in this area of Canada’s subarctic is extremely difficult due in part to transportation challenges. There are no permanent roads so the only access is by air or temporary ice roads that must be rebuilt each winter. Not surprisingly, mining investors identified infrastructure issues in Canada’s North as a major area of concern in the survey.”...
