» Petra Diamonds reports first profits

Source: AFNS Petra Diamonds reported its first net profits ever in the second half of 2007—$8.2 million on revenues of $32.1 million, compared with a net loss of $9.5 million on revenues of $8.2 million in the second half of 2006. (All but $400,000 of revenues this year were from rough diamond sales; the $400,000 came from sales of 27.42 carats of polished diamonds. Last year, all company revenues were from rough diamond sales.) This turnaround was the result of the company’s development from an exploration company into a diamond producing and exploration group. In the past 14 months, the company has grown its production assets by acquiring the Cullinan, Koffiefontein and Kimberley Underground mines from De Beers, adding these assets to its exploration base in Angola (at Alto Cuilo, Luangue), Botswana (Kalahari Diamonds) and operations in Sierra Leone (Kono). Cullinan is expected to add more than 1 million carats per year of gross production and the Kimberley Underground mines are more than 100,000 carats. In Sierra Leone, trial mining continues on two shafts, with 8,640 diamonds totaling 760 carats recovered to date, including a 10.55 carat octahedron. Group revenue growth of 291 percent was driven largely by Koffiefontein sales, which the company began recording in July 2007 and which averaged $408 per carat. The company also reported a significant increase in the prices from production at its South African fissure mines, Helam, Star and Sedibeng, which averaged $182 carat, up 44 percent. Overall South African production totaled 101,213 carats for the second half of 2007, a 17 percent increase from 86,396 carats in the second half of 2006, and 115,918 carats were sold, a 79 percent increase. In January, the company found a 50.14 carat diamond at Sedibeng, which it sold for $1.3 million. The company continues to develop "beneficiation" (cutting and polishing locally produced rough in southern Africa). The current goal is to cut and polish 2,500 carats of rough by mid-2008. Group rough production is expected to rise to more than 1 million carats per annum by 2010, compared with a previous management target of 500,000 carats for the same period, Petra Chairman Adonis Pouroulis said.

Date: 2008-03-24 Time: 10.11AM

» Anglo American operating profit $10 billion; diamonds 5 percent of that

Source: AFNS Anglo American operating profit $10 billion; diamonds 5 percent of that

Date: 2008-03-23 Time: 06.30AM

» Christie’s to auction 101 carat white diamond

Source: AFNS Christie's will auction a 101.27 carat white diamond from South Africa’s Cullinan Mine (formerly known as the Premier Mine) in Hong Kong on May 28. It is expected to fetch at least $6 million. This will be the largest diamond ever auctioned in Asia, Francois Curiel, chairman of jewelry at Christie's, said. He said only three other diamonds weighing more than 100 carats had ever been auctioned off, and all those stones were sold in Geneva. The 101.27 carat stone will be on public display as part of Christie's "Spring Masterpieces Exhibition," which includes jewelry and other items worth $342 million. The Cullinan Mine is owned by Petra Diamonds, which bought it from De Beers.

Date: 2008-03-22 Time: 18.25PM

» DTC Botswana ribbon-cutting set for March 18

Source: AFNS The Diamond Trading Company Botswana will officially open for business in the country's capital of Gaborone March 18, with the new sorting and aggregation facility to be dedicated that day by outgoing Botswanan President Festus Mogae. The facility cost 471 million pula ($73 million) to build. It will employ 600 Botswanans to sort some 49 million carats annually of rough diamonds produced by Debswana, the 50-50 joint mining venture of De Beers and the Botswanan government. There are 39 sorting machines in the facility worth a total of 69 million pula ($11 million). The sorting and aggregation facility will help create 3,000 jobs downstream in Botswana-based polishing plants and related facilities, once it is fully up to speed next year. So far, the Botswanan government has licensed 16 polishing plants to receive their share of domestically produced rough. By 2010, they will be receiving $550 million worth of Botswanan diamonds a year for processing.

Date: 2008-03-21 Time: 11.21AM

» IDMA calls for industry-wide diamond promotion campaign

Source: AFNS The International Diamond Manufacturers Association called for an industry-wide comprehensive diamond promotion campaign, and offered to coordinate such a program itself. The organization issued the call following a two-day leadership retreat in Israel after the Third International Rough Diamond Conference that was held in Tel Aviv February 11-12. IDMA President Jeffrey Fischer said that the organization "will take a leadership role in developing specific proposals" for comprehensive, industry-wide marketing of diamonds. The IDMA retreat was moderated by industry analysts Chaim Even-Zohar of Tacy Consultants Ltd. and Charles Wyndham of WWW International Diamonds Ltd. Fischer said participants focused on internal organizational planning, matters of concern to IDMA members and other issues confronting the wider diamond industry. Fischer said the IDMA is concerned that the current level of rough diamond prices is based on speculation. "As a result, the diamond manufacturing sector is experiencing the collapse of already very thin profit margins. Producers large and small should take note and take appropriate action." "The diamond manufacturing industry has historically been, and still is, production driven," he added. "Obviously, that needs to change, and soon! We therefore urge our members to face the painful reality that there is over-capacity in production in the various cutting centers, and that a significant contraction and consolidation of the manufacturing base are inevitable. We need our members to wake up to that ugly and painful situation and make the right choices for the sake of the future of their own businesses."

Date: 2008-03-20 Time: 09.15AM

» Valentine’s Day pizza, champagne and a diamond ring for $8,180

Source: AFNS Favitta's Family Pizzeria, Rochester, New York, had a diamond special for Valentine’s Day - a very pricy special. Customers could order a heart-shaped pizza, Dom Perignon champagne and a diamond ring from the local Scheer Jewelers. The tab for the tasty treat and diamond ring: $8,180. Customers could choose from a selection of the rings.

Date: 2008-03-19 Time: 17.19 PM

» Bush family relation in diamond ring dispute

Source: AFNS Sharon Bush, the ex-wife of President George W. Bush's brother Neil, is being sued for $434,000 by her ex-fiance after she refused to return the 11 carat diamond engagement ring he bought her. The couple were engaged in October 2006, but the wedding was repeatedly postponed and then cancelled. The aggrieved ex-fiance is a 78-year-old Chinese billionaire called Gerald Tsai. He alleges that he bought the ring for $243,040 at Saks Fifth Avenue, and is now suing his 55-year-old former bride-to-be for fraud and breach of contract.

Date: 2008-03-18 Time: 12.25 PM

» Alrosa says its rough diamond reserves are worth $109 billion

Source: AFNS Alrosa, the diamond mining giant controlled by the Russian government, has rough diamond reserves worth $109.3 billion, President Sergei Vybornov told the third annual gathering of rough diamond producers in Tel Aviv. That is enough for Alrosa to mine for 30 to 40 years, Vynornov said. The company had never disclosed how much its reserves were worth, although the secrecy legally imposed on the company was lifted by the Russian government in 2004. The Russian government is taking steps to achieve its long-sought goal of increasing its stake in Alrosa from the current level of 48 percent to an absolute majority, and an IPO is also said to be in the works.

Date: 2008-03-17 Time: 09.56 AM

» Madonna’s wedding tiara to shine at ‘Diamond Divas’ exhibition in Antwerp

Source: AFNS A tiara worn by American megastar Madonna, when she wed the British film director Guy Richie at Skibo Castle in Scotland, will be among the items featured in the "Diamond Divas" exhibition, which will open on April 11 at the Province of Antwerp’s Diamond Museum and run through June 8, 2008. The Edwardian diamond tiara was loaned to Madonna for her wedding by the London jewellery house Asprey & Garrard, London. An aficionado of fine jewellery, the singer had noticed it when shopping at the company's New Bond Street store. Her choice of tiara was a closely guarded secret, shared only with Richie and a handful of close friends. Made in approximately 1910, the tiara includes 765 old cut diamonds weighing 78 carats, and another two larger diamonds with a combined weight of 2.50 carats. Madonna was said to have selected it because she thought it would go well with her wedding dress, which was designed by Stella McCartney. "Diamond Divas" will feature a variety of stunning diamond jewellery items worn by crowned heads, the stars of stage and screen and tell their stories.

Date: 2008-03-16 Time: 11.50 AM

» Indian diamond trade hit by lower U.S. demand, weak dollar

Source: AFNS The weak U.S. dollar, fears of recession in the United States and a U.S. decision to end a customs exemption for Indian diamond and jewelry exporters are depressing the Indian diamond trade. The customs exemption was withdrawn last July, after the U.S. government decided that the Indian diamond, gem and jewelry trade was strongly competitive and did not need help provided to developing countries. The results are said to be especially noticeable in the Santacruz Electronic Export Processing Zone (SEEPZ) in Mumbai (Bombay), which is home to more than 130 jewelry companies accounting for 38 percent of Indian jewelry exports of $5.21 billion. T.P. Gopalakrishnan, executive secretary of the SEEPZ Gems and Jewelry Manufacturers Association, said export orders for the U.S. market are down on slower U.S. demand.

Date: 2008-03-15 Time: 13.10 PM

» Botswana stands up for domestic diamond polishing

Source: AFNS Botswana is determined to go ahead with its plans to supply domestically produced rough diamonds to its nascent diamond cutting industry, although skeptics say the economics don’t add up. Ponatshego Kedikilwe, Botswana’s minister of minerals, energy and water affairs, gave a speech at the 13th International Mining Investment Conference (INDABA 2008) in Cape Town, South Africa, defending “beneficiation” and the country’s plans to have the Diamond Trading Company Botswana, a joint venture with De Beers, sell $360 million worth of rough to 16 licensed polishing companies this year, with the goal of creating 3,000 jobs. But analyst Chaim Even-Zohar of Tacy Ltd. said that polishing costs in Botswana and its like-minded neighbors Namibia and South Africa are around $100 per carat, compared with just $20 per carat in the diamond polishing industry centers of India and China, which will make southern Africa unable to compete in this field.

Date: 2008-03-14 Time: 09.11AM

» Gem Diamonds sells $152 million worth of rough from Letseng

Source: AFNS Gem Diamonds sold $152 million (U.S.) worth of rough diamonds from Letseng in 2007, an 81 percent increase over $83.9 million in 2006, the company said. By weight, 76,873 carats were sold from Letseng Mine, a 45 percent increase on the 52,998 carats sold in 2006. The company owns 70 percent of this mine, with the remaining 30 percent owned by the country's government. In January 2008, the company sold $3.1 million worth of Letseng diamonds, $68,000 per carat. Recently, the 493 carat "Letseng Legacy" sold in Antwerp for $10.4 million, $21,000 per carat, and a 215 carat D- flawless diamond sold for $8.3 million, $38,600 per carat. In January, a 25 carat D-color diamond was sold for $5 million, $40,000 per carat, and a 26 carat pink diamond was sold for $2.6 million ($99,000 per carat). Gem Diamonds held an auction in January for 15,000 carats of rough produced at the Cempaka Mine in Indonesia, in which the company holds an 80 percent stake (the balance is held by the Indonesian government). Average price per carat was $331, an increase of 52 percent over prices achieved prior to Gem Diamonds’ acquisition of the mine. The first auction of diamonds from Gem Diamonds' wholly owned Ellendale Mine in Western Australia, which it acquired from Kimberley Diamond Co., brought in $14 million from 63,500 carats, at an average of $220 per carat, an increase of 22 percent over prices achieved prior to the acquisition. Gem Diamonds spent $404 million in 2007 on acquisitions in Australia (buying Ellendale from Kimberley Diamond Co.), Botswana, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Indonesia (acquiring BDI Mining, which holds the 80 percent stake in Cempaka), which are all now under the company’s control. The Letseng Mine’s processing capacity increased with the construction of a second processing plant, and early stage operations in central Africa achieved progress.

Date: 2008-03-13 Time: 18.50 PM

» BHP Billiton diamond sales up 6.4 percent

Source: AFNS BHP Billiton reported $418 million (U.S.) in sales of diamonds and other specialty products in the second half of 2007, up 6.4 percent from $393 million in the second half of 2006. Underlying earnings before interest and taxation on the diamonds and specialty products were $72 million, a decrease of $6 million or 7.7 percent compared with the corresponding period. This was mainly due to increased exploration activity on diamond targets in Angola, lower value per carat diamonds and unfavorable exchange rate movements for the Canadian dollar and the South African rand against the U.S. dollar, the company said. BHP Billiton added that these negative effects were partly offset by higher diamond sales volumes and lower unit costs at Ekati, the company's mine in Canada's Northwest Territories, which in turn was due to the processing of higher grade material, a move to underground mining and increased cost efficiencies. The company said it has begun production at the Koala Underground mine in Canada.

Date: 2008-03-12 Time: 10.00 AM

» Angolan rough diamond production 9.7 million carats in 2007

Source: AFNS Angola produced 9.7 million carats of rough diamonds in 2007, an official of the state-owned diamond mining company Endiama said at the 13th International Mining Investment Conference (INDABA 2008) in Cape Town, South Africa. Organized mining produced 8.6 million carats of the total, while the remaining 1.1 million carats were produced by "artisanal" diggers. The country had expected to reach the 10 million carat mark in 2006. In 2005, more than 6 million carats were produced. Production has been rising steadily since the end of a 27-year-long civil war in 2002.

Date: 2008-03-11 Time: 08.45 AM

» Russian government increasing stake in Alrosa again

Source: AFNS The Russian government is increasing its stake in the monopoly rough diamond producer Alrosa again, from the current level of 48 percent to an absolute majority. The company is issuing new equity to make this possible, and the stability and governmental commitment implied by the change has prompted Standard & Poor's Ratings Services to raise its long-term credit rating for the firm from BB - to BB. Another advantage for Alrosa in the Russian national government's takeover is that starting in 2009, the company will no longer have to pay royalties to the autonomous Republic of Sakha (Yakutia), a minority shareholder that claimed 5 billion rubles ($202.3 million) in royalties from Alrosa last year. Alrosa's production is likely to be steady or ecline slightly over the next few years, and its free capital will likely be tied up in a switch from open pit to underground diamond mining, Standard & Poor's said. Despite the Russian government's dominant interest in Alrosa, the firm is not key to the Russian state and has been allowed to run its business affairs autonomously, the rating agency said.

Date: 2008-03-10 Time: 10.00 AM

» De Beers sales down 3 percent in 2007

Source: AFNS De Beers S.A., the Luxembourg-based holding company at the corporate heart of the De Beers Group, reported sales of $6.836 billion in 2007, down 3 percent from $7.03 billion in 2006. The company’s earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortization totalled $1.216 billion, off 1 percent from $1.232 billion in 2006. However, "underlying earnings" increased 14 percent to $483 million, compared with $425 million in 2006. Rough diamond production totaled 51.1 million carats, approximately equaling the record level of 2006. Debswana, the joint venture between De Beers and the government of Botswana, remains the group’s major producer, having contributed 33.6 million carats in 2007. In South Africa, De Beers Consolidated Mines (DBCM) increased production to 15 million carats, mainly due to improvements to the diamond recovery process at Venetia Mine, where the quantity of carats found increased 9 percent. Production from off-shore operations in Namibia increased, resulting in Namdeb, the joint venture between De Beers and the Namibian Government, increasing production 4 percent to 2.2 million carats. "Effective cost management at the group's African mining operations offset the impact of slightly lower sales, which were constrained by supply to the Diamond Trading Company (DTC)," the company said. "Reflecting strong confidence in the long-term fundamentals of the diamond market, the group invested $1.12 billion in expansion capital during the year, principally for construction at the Snap Lake and Victor mines in Canada (and) the Voorspoed mine and SASA offshore mining vessel in South Africa. The company pointed to a number of new sources of rough diamonds. Snap Lake, which is located in Canada's Northwest Territories, started producing diamonds in late 2007. Full production of 1.6 million carats annually is expected this year. By the middle of 2008, the Victor mine is scheduled to start production; once it is fully commissioned, it will produce 600,000 carats of diamonds a year. The The Voorspoed mine in South Africa is scheduled to commence production in the final quarter of 2008, and is expected to produce 700,000 carats annually. Boteti Exploration Company, a joint venture between De Beers, African Diamonds Plc and Wati Ventures, has filed for a mining licence for AK06, a kimberlite in the Orapa region of Botswana with an estimated reserve of 11.1 million carats. On the exploration front, in 2007 De Beers decided to spend $126 million on a new exploration program in the Democratic Republic of Congo and existing early and advanced programs, particularly in Angola, Botswana and South Africa. De Beers identified 45 new kimberlites in 2007, and its 2008 drilling and evaluation program will focus on these high-potential targets. Meanwhile, the company sold its 50 percent stake in Gope Exploration Company (Pty) Ltd to Gem Diamond Mining Company Ltd for $17 million; sold its Koffiefontein mine in South Africa to Petra Diamonds Ltd in July 2007 for 82 million rand ($12 million); and agreed to sell the Cullinan Diamond Mine to a Petra-led consortium for 1.03 billion rand ($150 million).

Date: 2008-03-09 Time: 08.45 AM

» Rio Tinto rejects $1.47 BHP Billiton offer for the company

Source: AFNS Rio Tinto has rejected BHP Billiton's $1.47 billion offer for the company, the second time it has turned down a BHP Billiton buyout bid in less than a year. Under the new proposal, each Rio Tinto share would be exchanged for 3.4 BHP Billiton shares, and BHP Billiton would end up with all of the issued share capital of Rio Tinto plc and Rio Tinto Limited. Rio Tinto said this offer "significantly undervalue(s) Rio Tinto" and is not being in the best interests of its shareholders. "BHP Billiton's offers, while improved, still fail to recognize the underlying value of Rio Tinto's quality assets and prospects. Our plans are unchanged, and will remain so unless a proposal is made that fully reflects the value of Rio Tinto. Accordingly we are forging ahead with our strategy of operating and developing large-scale, long-life, low-cost assets to generate significant value for shareholders," Rio Tinto Chairman Paul Skinner said A merged company would have total nominal, incremental earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortization of $3.7 billion per annum within seven years, BHP Billiton said. Both companies have significant diamond holdings -Rio Tinto has a 60 percent share of the Diavik mine in the Northwest Territories, and BHP Billiton has an 80 percent share of the Ekati Mine, also in the Northwest Territories. Additionally, Rio Tinto wholly owns the Argyle Mine in Western Australia and 78 percent of the Murowa Mine in Zimbabwe.

Date: 2008-03-08 Time: 13.11 PM

» Penny calls lack of new mines a key challenge to diamond industry

Source: AFNS Israel's two-day Third International Rough Diamond Conference kicked off on Monday with around 400 participants from diamond-producing companies and countries across the world hearing speeches on the subject of "Producer Strategies." In a wide-ranging speech, De Beers Managing Director Gareth Penny spoke of the challenges facing the company and the wider industry. These include no new diamond mines being discovered for many years, despite a rising demand for diamond jewelry; rising input costs, such as oil; electricity shortages in South Africa; the weakness of the US dollar; and rising debts. In addition, he said the retail environment was weak with stores not creating an exciting atmosphere to encourage consumers to buy, and the large-scale discounting that took place in the United States before the critical sales season had even begun. He also said there was increasingly sophisticated competition from other luxury goods providers; the issue of synthetic diamonds; and the constant need to ensure consumer confidence. He said the diamond industry should concentrate efforts on emerging markets, such as China and India; strive to improve the retail environment to drive up sales; improve liquidity by looking at financial instruments and possibly also change the international currency of the diamond business from the US dollar to another currency. He also called on the industry to bear more of the cost of advertising and lessen the burden on De Beers, particularly since the company now only controls around 40 percent of global rough supplies. Amongst the initial speakers was Eli Izhakoff, World Diamond Council president who said that just 10 years ago a rough conference would not have taken place in Israel. Meanwhile, Jeffrey Fischer, president of the International Diamond Manufacturers Association, said the industry was undoubtedly undergoing hard times with prices for rough goods increasing. Cibjo President Dr. Gaeatno Cavalieri spoke of a number of factors that are going to influence the rough diamond market in years to come. "What we are seeing is a convergence of different developments, which include an increase in the number of corporations involved in rough diamond mining, a growing insistence on the part of the governments of diamond producing countries that more added value remains at home, and a greater awareness on the part of jewellery consumers about ethical and fair trading practices," he stated. Ernie Blom, president of the World Federation of Diamond Bourses, spoke about the fragmentation of the supply of rough diamonds due to the Diamond Trading Company’s diminishing share of the rough market. On the issue of beneficiation in Southern Africa, Avi Paz, president of the Israel Diamond Exchange, said he understood and supported the concept, but warned that rough should “reach polishing centers that have a competitive edge like Israel.” Israel Diamond Institute Chairman Moti Ganz has disputed claims that there is not enough rough in the pipeline. "There is no shortage of rough. But even more than that – we also have plenty of polished…Manufacturers have accumulated stock in an unprecedented volume of $14 – 17 billion," he said. Ganz called on producers to refrain from the use of tenders and auctions, which he said hurts manufacturers and in the long-run the producers themselves. Ganz said that rough diamonds have no value without the manufacturers, and that these must receive a rough supply on a regular basis and in a stable variety of qualities and sizes. Ganz also delivered a clear message to manufacturers: no customers, don't polish. He said that manufacturers must stop purchasing rough and polishing diamonds for stock. "All industries, worldwide, have moved to manufacturing by demand…Only the diamond industry has failed to join this global trend," he said. Ganz implored rough producers to support the promotion of diamonds as a luxury product. "Every rough producer should take part in the generic advertising of diamonds. This task must not be left in the hands of a single rough producer," he said. In Ganz’ view all producers should act as De Beers does – to spend 3 percent of sales turnover on advertising. "In the long-run this investment will be repaid, as the awareness of diamonds increases in the consumer market," he added. The second day of the conference on Tuesday looks at the issues of future sources of rough supplies; governmental policies towards the diamond sector; supply strategies, demand and pricing forecasts; and financing and valuing the diamond pipeline.

Date: 2008-03-07 Time: 09.00 AM

» End of De Beers monopoly transforming diamond market, analyst says

Source: AFNS De Beers’ voluntary transformation of its business model has ended its status as the diamond cartel, with uncertain consequences for the entire diamond industry, analyst Chaim Even-Zohar said at the 13th International Mining Investment Conference (INDABA 2008) in Cape Town, South Africa. Other diamond mining companies do not know how to cope with this change, but are moving toward an auction system, Even-Zohar said. Diamond polishing companies do not know how to cope with these changes and may face uncertain supply. The trend toward "beneficiation," or polishing of diamonds in the countries where they are mined, is not economically justifiable, he said. Overall, the trend on the world diamond markets is to move toward a demand-driven market rather than a supply-driven one. The diamond trade missed the boat on economic expansion just after the turn of the millennium and is now facing a poorer consumer economy where other luxury items are outperforming diamonds, Even-Zohar said. The controls put in place to stop the trade in conflict diamonds have made it easier to estimate the true size of the world diamond market, Even-Zohar said. In 2007, that amounted to $12.5 billion worth of rough diamonds, which were sold for $19 billion after polishing, $30 billion at the wholesale level and $70 billion at the retail level. A single stone takes a little more than two years to traverse the entire pipeline, Even-Zohar estimated.

Date: 2008-03-06 Time: 16.30 PM

» Tiffany to offer $94,000 diamond cell phone.

Source: AFNS U.S. fine jeweler Tiffany & Co. will offer a diamond encrusted cell phone to the Japanese market, starting in February. The handset will reportedly retail for $94,000, and will be set with 400 diamonds with a total weight of 20 carats. The cell phone will be compatible with Japan’s ultrafast Softbank Mobile cell phone network.

Date: 2008-03-05 Time: 14.15 PM

» Huge coal reserves attributed to Botswana

Source: AFNS Botswana, long known for its diamond mining industry, has enormous reserves of coal as well, according to new estimates. Some 212 billion metric tons of coal are said to be under the southern African country, which would be two-thirds of all reserves in Africa and would far outstrip the coal reserves of neighboring South Africa. Asenjo, a 50-50 joint venture between the Australian company Aquila Resources and Jonah Mining, which is itself a 50-50 joint venture between Sam Jonah’s Jonah Capital and Sentula Mining, formerly Scharrig Mining, has announced plans to begin large-scale mining of land containing up to 6.7 billion metric tons of coal. Botswana is heavily on dependent on diamonds for its GDP, government revenues and foreign currency reserves. The country is the world’s largest single source of rough gem diamonds by value, contributing about 30 percent of international supplies. Debswana, the 50-50 joint venture between De Beers and the Botswanan government, dominates the sector with its four giant mines.

Date: 2008-03-04 Time: 13.34 AM

» Stornoway and Shear report high diamond counts in northern Canada

Source: AFNS Stornoway Diamond Corporation and Shear Minerals Ltd. reported “significant micro and macrodiamond counts” ranging from 29 to 138 diamonds per kilogram at four kimberlite dykes found in 2007 at their Churchill diamond project in Nunavut, northern Canada. “The partners are optimistic that Churchill has the potential to host an economic diamond resource,” Shear President and CEO Pamela Strand said. She added that future work will include prospecting, geophysics and drilling in favorable spots to examine grade variability and search for higher potential zones. Prospecting on the property in 2007 also identified 16 new “outcrop and sub crop” kimberlite discoveries. The Churchill Diamond Project is owned 41.86 percent by Stornoway and 58.14 percent by its operator, Shear. It includes the diamond rights to more than 2 million acres near the communities of Rankin Inlet and Chesterfield Inlet in the Kivalliq region of Nunavut.

Date: 2008-03-03 Time: 17.19 PM

» Shanghai Diamond Exchange transactions exceed $1 billion mark

Source: AFNS More than $1 billion worth of business was done via the Shanghai Diamond Exchange in 2007, a 53.4 percent increase over 2006, due to lower taxes on diamonds and a booming consumer market, according to the Diamond Administration of China. This included $909 million worth of diamond imports and exports, a 58.7 percent increase. Imports alone more than doubled to $440 million, a 109.6 percent increase. Polished diamonds made up 98.9 percent of all diamond imports. Internal transactions on the diamond bourse totaled $56.3 million, a 56.3 percent increase. As of the end of the year, the exchange had 209 members. The exchange joined the World Federation of Diamond Bourses in 2004.

Date: 2008-03-02 Time: 10.23 AM

» Namibia’s Namdeb attacking problem of rough diamond theft

Source: AFNS Namdeb, the 50-50 joint diamond mining venture between De Beers and the Namibian government, investigated 21 cases of rough diamond theft in 2007, spokesman Hilifa Mbako said. Twenty employees were arrested by the company’s internal police unit. Another 10 employees were not arrested due to insufficient evidence but were internally disciplined. The company recovered more than 400 carats of stolen rough diamonds worth a total of N$2.5 million (U.S.$336,000), including a single 23.1 carat rough stone. Employee theft was a major reason why the company produced 72,000 fewer carats than expected in the course of the year, for a total of 2.176 million carats. The target figure for 2008 is 2.306 million carats, 1.262 million carats of which are slated to come from land-based mining and the rest from offshore mining.

Date: 2008-03-01 Time: 18.50 PM

» Lonrho Mining gets green light for alluvial diamond mining at Lulo, Angola

Source: AFNS Australia’s Lonrho Mining said the Angolan government has given it approval to start its alluvial diamond exploration and mining joint venture at the Lulo concession. The company plans to start alluvial operations in April. Lonrho Mining said it has completed 70 percent of its airborne magnetic and radiometric survey over the 1,000 square kilometer target area, and the whole thing should be done by February 7, with a report due by the end of the month. The preliminary data are of exceptionally high quality, and the geological structures appear very well defined, the company said. The survey is targeting kimberlite pipes within the survey area, of which 27 are known to be between the Lulo and Cacuilo Rivers. In addition, construction of the Cacuilo River base camp has begun, and is due for completion in March. A diamond recovery plant is scheduled for completion on the site by mid-April, depending on logistical considerations. The company is planning a geological mapping survey of the Cacuilo River picro-ilmenite rich terrace gravels. After that is done, the firm will begin excavation of a 6,000 ton bulk sample, which should be by the end of March.

Date: 2008-02-29 Time: 17.25 PM

» Zimbabwe mine nationalization threat on hold

Source: AFNS Foreign owners of Zimbabwean mines, including diamond mines, can breathe a little easier now that the threat by President Robert Mugabe to nationalize a 51 percent stake in all mines appears to be on hold. A bill introduced in the Zimbabwean parliament in 2007 would have carried out Mugabe’s threat, but it has been allowed to lapse now that Mugabe, who has ruled since 1980, has dissolved the parliament ahead of elections planned for March 29. The foreign owners would have been reimbursed for only a 26 percent stake in the mines, under the bill. The only diamond mine with significant production in Zimbabwe at the moment is Murowa in the southwest, which is 78 percent owned by Rio Tinto.

Date: 2008-02-28 Time: 10.23 AM

» Diavik production up 21 percent to 11.9 million carats in 2007

Source: AFNS The Diavik Diamond Mine produced 11.9 million carats of rough in 2007, up 21.4 percent compared with 2006. Production in the fourth quarter from the A154 South pipe totaled 2.9 million carats, up 16 percent from 2.5 million carats in the final quarter of 2006. Management said that surface mining will continue on the A154 South pipe, as work continues on schedule to prepare the new A418 open pit for ore release by the end of March. Mining of the A154 North pipe will resume when it can be accessed via the underground workings, which is all according to plan. Diavik's joint venture partners, Rio Tinto (60 percent) and Harry Winston Diamond Corp. (formerly Aber Diamond Corp., with 40 percent) have said they will invest $563 million (U.S.) to prepare for underground mining. The money will be spent over the next two years to construct approximately 20 km of underground tunnels and surface works. Underground production will begin in 2009, and will replace open pit mining by 2012. Mine life is expected to continue beyond 2020, in accordance with the 16 to 22 years originally projected in the Diavik mine feasibility study. Exploration continued in 2007, but the total number of kimberlite bodies discovered to date on the Diavik property remains at 68. The mine is located 300 km northeast of Yellowknife, the capital of the Northwest Territories.

Date: 2008-02-27 Time: 06.30AM

» Canadians pledge support to CIBJO-UN education fund

Source: AFNS The Canadian Jewellers Association (CJA), which is a broad-based, full service trade organization serving all sectors of the Canadian jewelry industry, has pledged a sum of U.S. $10,000 to the new Education Fund set up in 2007 by CIBJO, the World Jewelry Confederation, in cooperation with the United Nations. The aim of the fund is to promote projects in which the jewelry business serves as a facilitator for sustainable economic and social development. Notice of the decision by the board of directors of the Canadian Jewellers Association to make the donation was made by CJA Chairman Morris Robinson to Dr. Gaetano Cavalieri, the president of CIBJO. Mr. Robinson said the donation is not only a tangible indication of CJA's support for CIBJO and its program, but also of the Canadian jewelry industry's strong belief in the principles of corporate responsibility and in the ideal that the jewelry industry can act as a positive force in disadvantaged regions of the world. Dr. Cavalieri expressed his thanks to the CJA board. "The Canadian Jewellers Association has once again demonstrated its sense of commitment to our industry and to the communities in which we operate. CJA is essentially investing in all of our futures, for in the modern business environment our success as industry will depend not only getting our goods to the market, but also in showing that we are contributing positively to the wellbeing of the regions in which we are active," he said. The creation of the CIBJO Education Fund was agreed upon in November 2007 at a special session of the CIBJO Executive Committee, which took place at the United Nations headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland. With the support of the UN Development Program and the UN's Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), of which CIBJO has been a member since 2006, it was decided to initiate, coordinate and support educational programs that will advance sustainable jewelry industry projects. CIBJO and the Canadian Jewellers Association have traditionally enjoyed a close relationship. The CJA hosted the 2006 CIBJO Congress which took place in Vancouver, British Columbia.

Date: 2008-02-26 Time: 18.25PM

» DTC’s Shine denies targeting Indians when cutting sightholder list

Source: AFNS Varda Shine, managing director of De Beers’s Diamond Trading Company, denied that the company had deliberately targeted Indian companies when it recently cut its list of sightholder clients from 93 down to 79 for the new two-and-a-half-year contract period ending in 2011. She dismissed claims that up to 150,000 jobs could be lost in the Indian industry, and said that the quantity supplied to India will actually be the same as or even greater than before. The collapse of the U.S. housing market and fears that the country is falling into recession, potentially affecting the rest of the world, will pose challenges for the diamond industry this year, Shine said. However, she said rising demand in emerging markets like China and India will help compensate, while super-rich U.S., Russian and Chinese customers are driving demand for large white, blue and pink diamonds. Rough diamond supplies will remain stable this year since no new sources have been found, Shine said.

Date: 2008-02-25 Time: 11.21AM

» Tahera suspending mining at Jericho, northern Canada

Source: AFNS The bankrupt Canadian diamond mining company Tahera Diamond Corporation said January 23 that it would suspend mining activities at the Jericho Mine in Nunavut in approximately two weeks to preserve cash and fuel at the mine while the company restructures. In the next two weeks, Tahera is making "a concerted effort … to maximize high-grade ore stockpiles," the company said. After that, the company plans to continue ore processing and diamond recovery for approximately two months or until the high-grade ore stockpiles are exhausted. Nuna Logistics has agreed to provide site services as required once mining has been suspended and while ore processing continues. Tahera will assess all its options with a view to continuing operations at Jericho. The mine is located approximately 360 km southwest of Cambridge Bay, in the Kitikmeot region of western Nunavut. It started operations in early 2006 and officially opened in August 2006. Approximately 100 people work at the mine, of whom 35 or so are Inuit.

Date: 2008-02-24 Time: 09.15AM

» Survey finds diamonds or roses as the best Valentine’s Day gifts

Source: AFNS According to the results of a nation-wide survey conducted online in the United States via Harris Interactive by Teleflora, the world's leading floral service, both men and women are in agreement about gifts to give on Valentine’s Day. 84 percent of women ages 18-34 selected diamond jewelry or roses as the gifts that come to mind when they think about this romantic day. Surprisingly to some, 77 percent of men in that same age group are in agreement. No matter what the age, diamonds or roses never goes out of style, suggested the survey, considering that 72 percent of men and 76 percent of women ages 45-54 selected diamond jewelry or roses as gifts that first come to mind for celebrating Valentine’s Day. When given a list of the best Valentine's Day gifts to receive, women selected roses as the best gift to receive (32 percent); diamond jewelry as the second best gift (29 percent); jewelry other than diamonds as the third best gift (26 percent); roses other than flowers as the fourth best gift (24 percent). When given a list of what men would want to give their significant other on Valentine's Day, 53 percent selected roses, followed by flowers other than roses at 39 percent, and 34 percent of men would give jewelry and 26 percent of men would specifically give diamond jewelry to their loved ones this Valentine’s Day.

Date: 2008-02-23 Time: 17.19 PM

» Diamonds brighten 14th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards

Source: AFNS Hollywood's biggest stars came out to support the 14th Annual Screen Actors GuildAwards and diamonds once again proved to be the clear choice as the most glamorous accessory to sparkle on the red carpet. Hollywood's leading ladies from television and film proudly donned their most sophisticated diamond looks, with the big trends of the evening being diamond power earrings, showcasing large diamond studs, diamond drops, and diamond chandelier earrings; boldly adorned stacked diamond bracelets and cuffs; and diamond Right Hand Rings. Diamond broaches also made a grand appearance. To highlight the evening's best all-diamond looks, actress Ana Ortiz, from the nominated cast of the television series, "Ugly Betty" showcased an amazing half a million dollar diamond look by Kwiat, including beautiful diamond cluster earrings, a vintage diamond and platinum bracelet, and a diamond and platinum flower broach worn in her hair. Presenter and actress, Kate Beckinsale also stole the red carpet wearing Van Cleef & Arpel's private museum collection pieces, including stacked diamond bracelets on both wrists, bold diamond stud earrings, a 1919 Art Deco diamond Right Hand Ring, and a breathtaking diamond broach. Female nominee and award presenter Marion Cotillard wore a Happy Spirit diamond Right Hand Ring and Happy Diamond pave pendant necklace by Chopard.

Date: 2008-02-22 Time: 12.25 PM

» Jewellers of Europe publishes trade directory

Source: AFNS A trade group called Jewellers of Europe has published a directory with more than 60,000 names and addresses of jewelry and watch retailers in Europe, 90 percent of whom are independent dealers, 9 percent retail chains and 1 percent boutiques. The only countries included in the initial edition are France, Germany, the UK, Spain and Italy, but more countries will be added in the future. More than 150 jewelry and watch brands are listed in the directory, which is available as a searchable, customizable online database at www.jewellersdirectory.eu. More than 40,000 of the jeweler listings can be searched by the names of the brands they carry, Filip Van Laere, founder and CEO of Jewellers of Europe, said. There are more than 100,000 retail jewelers serving European consumers, who number 50 percent more than their U.S. counterparts, Van Laere said.

Date: 2008-02-21 Time: 09.56 AM

» De Beers suspends South African mining due to power shortages

Source: AFNS De Beers Consolidated Mines (DBCM), the South African arm of the De Beers group, said it has ceased rough diamond production at its six mines, Venetia, Finsch, Kimberley, Cullinan, The Oaks and Namaqualand, due to a severe national power shortage in South Africa. The mines have been put on "survival load," using just enough electrical power to avoid risk to employees and property and to maintain safe working conditions, in the case of De Beers’ underground Finsch and Cullinan Diamond Mines. All major mining operations that are major clients of the South African electrical utility, Eskom, have been requested to immediately reduce consumption of power from the national grid to an absolute minimum as the utility struggles with such problems as depleted coal stockpiles, load losses and wet coal. It is not known how long the crisis will continue. DBCM said its mining operations will be managed in a state of operational readiness to resume later. Therefore essential ventilation, pumping and lighting, and all safety related services will continue, while regular operations will cease. The company added that it is strictly following all health and safety guidelines, including the safe evacuation of all underground personnel except essential staff. DBCM had already cut its power demands on Eskom from 707 gigawatt hours in 2006 to 681 gigawatt hours in 2007, Managing Director David Noko said. The company recently signed an "Energy Efficiency Accord" issued by the South African Department of Minerals and Energy and said it was aiming for a 2–3 percent reduction in the use of energy per year over the next seven years, for a total 15 percent improvement by 2015.

Date: 2008-02-20 Time: 11.50 AM

» BHP Billiton diamond production up 31 percent in second half of 2007

Source: AFNS BHP Billiton produced 1.865 million carats of rough diamonds in the second half of 2007, a 31 percent increase from the second half of 2006. In the fourth quarter of 2007, production totaled 843,000 carats, which was a 10 percent decrease from the final quarter of 2006 and an 18 percent decrease from the third quarter of 2007. The higher production for the second half of 2007 was "due to higher recoveries and grade," the company said. "Although production increased, it included a higher proportion of lower value carats." The drop in the final quarter was "due to lower recoveries and grade," the company added. BHP Billiton said that as the Ekati Mine in Canada's Northwest Territories, in which it owns an 80 percent stake, transitions from open pit mining to underground mining, the mix of ore processed will change from time to time. During the fourth quarter of 2007, the company began production at its 80 percent owned Koala Underground mine in Canada. Exploration continued on diamond targets in Angola and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Date: 2008-02-19 Time: 13.10 PM

» Indian net polished diamond exports stagnant in 2007

Source: AFNS India's net polished diamond exports (total exports minus imports of polished stones) increased 2.7 percent in dollar terms to $6.42 billion from April through December 2007, compared with $6.25 billion during the same period of 2006. In rupee terms, Indian polished exports shrank 8.8 percent during this period compared with the same period the preceding year, according to the Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council. This is despite the fact that the total export figure for polished diamonds (before $3.62 billion in imports are subtracted out) jumped some 29.9 percent to $10.04 billion. Therefore, for April through December 2007, net polished exports from India were actually some $448 million less than net imports of rough diamonds into India during this period, which totaled $6.87 billion. This would seem to imply that Indian diamantaires are holding onto increasing stockpiles of unsold rough that they cannot profitably cut and export, amid a weakening U.S. market.

Date: 2008-02-18 Time: 09.11AM

» Russia’s Severalmaz to start selling rough diamonds

Source: AFNS The Russian diamond mining company Severalmaz, which produces rough diamonds from the Lomonosov deposit near Akhangelsk in Russia's northwest, will start selling rough diamonds to selected domestic and foreign clients by the end of March, now that the government has lifted export quotas. The company, which is 95 percent owned by the Russian government-owned diamond mining monopoly Alrosa, has set up its own "Severalmaz Selling Organization" and has instructed potential clients to start a prequalification process via its website, www.severalmaz.ru. Severalmaz may run auctions or sell the diamonds directly. Stones weighing more than 10.8 carats each have to be sold at auctions in Moscow, under Russian law. The Lomonosov deposit, which was discovered in 1980, may be worth up to $12 billion. Ownership has been disputed in the past between the Russian authorities and the Canadian company Archangel Diamond Corp., in which De Beers has a controlling interest.

Date: 2008-02-17 Time: 18.50 PM

» Diamdel holds first online auction

Source: AFNS De Beers subsidiary Diamdel held its first online auction for rough diamonds on January 28. The company said it had a good response from its customers, with auction attendance, participation and results "all exceeding expectations." Diamdel made all 16 lots available for viewing to potential buyers in several of the world’s major diamond centers before the auction. During the auction, the lots were sold to 14 buyers from around the world, with bidders actively participating in Antwerp, Tel Aviv, India and the Far East. No details about quantities or prices were disclosed. "We are delighted that the first auction has worked so well and in particular how we have been able to meet the needs of clients from around the world at market-determined prices," Diamdel Managing Director Neil Ventura said. "We are still reviewing the learning from the auction and will be talking to the participants in order to ensure the future auctions are equally successful." Details of future Diamdel E-auctions will be announced soon to customers registered at the company's website, www.diamdel.com, the company said. Diamdel is De Beers' direct marketing channel to clients too small to qualify for Diamond Trading Company sites, but it was drastically scaled back last year and offices in most major cutting centers except India were shut down.

Date: 2008-02-16 Time: 10.00 AM

» Display of 'Diamond Divas' to dazzle at Antwerp exhibition

Source: AFNS An exhibition that combines celebrity with stunning diamond jewellery will afford Antwerp the opportunity of continuing its long tradition of assembling spectacular displays of diamond jewellery. Called ‘Diamond Divas’, the exhibition will show items worn by royals, high society, stars of stage and screen. Organised by the Antwerp World Diamond Centre, it opens on April 11 at the Antwerp Diamond Museum and will run through June 8, 2008. Each item of jewellery that will be shown at the Diamond Divas exhibition comes with its own legend, sometimes concerning its owner and on other occasions the event for which it was created. Among the many items that will be shown are bracelets from the “Art de Cartier” collection owned by Gloria Swanson, a star from Hollywood’s silent movie era who was famous for her extravagant life style; a tiara owned by Doris Duke, the billionaire tobacco heiress who died under mysterious circumstances at age 80 in 1993, and whose life was the inspiration for the 1999 movie starring Lauren Bacall, called “Too Rich: The Secret Life of Doris Duke”; the “snake” necklace owned by Maria Felix, a leading lady from Mexico’s silver screen; the famous “Moon of Baroda” necklace, which has as its centrepiece a 24.04-carat canary yellow pear-shaped diamond, which was worn by Marilyn Monroe at the premiere of “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes.” To put together the exhibition, ADWC turned to high end jewellers, auction houses and private collections from around the world. In doing so, it drew from its experience of organising similar exhibitions, including “From the Treasury” and “Living Diamonds”. Diamond Divas will be held under the Patronage of HRH Princess Mathilde. The Diamond Divas exhibition runs from April 11-June 8, 2008, at the Diamond Museum of the Province of Antwerp, Astridplein 19-23, 2018 Antwerp (10:00 AM-5:30 PM/10:00 PM on Thursday). The entrance fee is € 12.50, and it also includes entry to the photography and fashion museums in Antwerp. Info and photo gallery on www.diamonddivas.be Diamond Divas is a cooperation with the Diamond Museum of the Province of Antwerp, sponsored by Antwerp Diamond Bank, KBC, ABN AMRO, SNCB, Roularta Media Group Lifestyle Magazines, De Standaard and the City of Antwerp. Diamond Divas is supported by the Province of Antwerp.

Date: 2008-02-15 Time: 08.45 AM

» Diamond-studded cases offered for BlackBerry, iPhone

Source: AFNS A company called Case-mate is offering cases accessorized with 18K gold and diamonds for the popular handheld electronic communication devices BlackBerry and iPhone. The cases retail for $20,000 each. The “BlackBerry Curve” case is set with 3.5 carats total weight of diamonds and 15 grams (0.5 oz.) of 18K gold. It was on display at the recent CES trade show in Las Vegas. The “Diamond Case” for the iPhone also contains 3.5 carats total weight of diamonds set in 18K gold. Each of these products boasts 42 individual small diamonds, all VVS1 clarity and H color.

Date: 2008-02-14 Time: 10.00 AM

» Diamdel launches rough diamond auctions on website

Source: AFNS Diamdel, the De Beers subsidiary that supplies the secondary market has entered the Internet sphere with the sale of rough diamonds on a new website, www.diamdel.com. The site’s diamond trading portal will enable registered buyers and sellers to trade in rough diamonds at Diamdel E-auctions. Diamdel continues to supply rough diamonds directly to clients, but from January is also selling them on the website. Diamdel aims to regularly sell in-demand stones. The diamond firm said that demand for some of its output is now so high that it feels the best way to sell the stones is via an online auction which will set the market price for the goods. The highpoint of Diamdel E-auctions in January is a 750-carat rough diamond, Diamdel assortments and DTC goods.

Date: 2008-02-13 Time: 08.45 AM

» Shanghai World Diamond Congress website online

Source: AFNS The Shanghai Diamond Exchange has started a website for the 33rd World Diamond Congress of the World Federation of Diamond Bourses (WFDB) at www.wordldiamondcongress2008.com. The biannual event will be held May 12 to 15 at the Portman Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Shanghai, one of the city’s leading business hotels. “Never before have we been online so early and completely for a World Diamond Congress,” WFDB President Ernest Blom said. The website enables participants and people accompanying them to register for the congress, consult the preliminary agenda, book hotel rooms and tours and indicate dietary needs. Two locally based liaison officers have been appointed by the Shanghai Diamond Exchange: Ling Shen, tel. +86-21-62170066, email: wdc2008@highteam.com, and Sunny Ma, tel. +86-21-52895838, email: sunny.ma@knprsh.com.

Date: 2008-02-12 Time: 13.11 PM

» Tahera, owner of Jericho Mine, goes bankrupt

Source: AFNS Tahera Diamond Corporation, owner of the Jericho Diamond Mine in Canada’s Nunavut territory, said January 16 that it had been granted bankruptcy protection by the Ontario Superior Court of Justice. The order gives the company and its subsidiary protection from creditors under Canada’s Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA) for an initial period of 30 days, expiring on February 14, which can then be extended or terminated at the court’s discretion. One of the company’s creditors is the U.S. fine jewelry firm Tiffany & Co. While under CCAA protection, Tahera management will remain responsible for day-to-day operations under the supervision of a court-appointed monitor, PricewaterhouseCoopers Inc., which will also be responsible for assisting management with the development and filing of a restructuring plan, liaising with creditors and other stakeholders and reporting to the court. The company had said in December that it needed to raise C$36.7 million (U.S.$35.9 million) to continue operations, including transporting supplies north to the mine along the seasonal ice road that serves Canada’s Far Northern diamond mines, including Ekati and Diavik in the Northwest Territories. While CEO Peter Gillin said he is optimistic that the company can sort out its financial problems, analyst said he thinks it is the end of the line for the company. Rio Tinto, which holds a 60 percent stake in Diavik, and De Beers, which is developing its own Canadian diamond mines, are said to be interested in buying the Jericho Mine.

Date: 2008-02-11 Time: 09.00 AM

» Canada ice road seen opening at end of January

Source: AFNS The 600-kilometer ice road that provides a resupply route for the diamond mines in Canada's far-north is on track to open around the end of January. The road starts in Yellowknife in the Northwest Territories, and leads to the neighboring Arctic territory of Nunavut, providing the only terrestrial supply route for the diamond mines, including Diavik, owned by Rio Tinto and Harry Winston. The ice highway also provides a supply link for BHP Billiton's Ekati mine, Tahera Diamond's Jericho mine and De Beers’ Snap Lake mine. The ice road has been in existence for more than two decades, and originally served the former Lupin gold mine in Nunavut. Its importance has grown in the past 10 years or so as the Canadian diamond mining industry has expanded. The road is used by transport trucks during the two-month season, and usually opens around the end of January or start of February. Mild temperatures in 2006 closed the road early, but in 2007 the mines had the benefit of a 73-day supply season when almost 11,000 loads were transported. Preparation work involves the use of converted amphibious military vehicles that can float if they fall through the ice.

Date: 2008-02-10 Time: 16.30 PM

» U.S. dollar causing Indian industry to hemorrhage profit, jobs

Source: AFNS The Indian diamond industry has lost 100,000 jobs and suffered a decline in manufacturing due to the continued strength of the rupee against the U.S. dollar, according to the country’s trade organization, the Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC). The industry has undergone some 45 billion rupees ($1.14 billion) worth of capital depreciation during the current fiscal year, while accumulating 8 percent more in inventory in value terms. But diamond companies’ stockpiles are depreciating in the current climate, the trade organization said. The GJEPC has suggested a number of steps the Indian government can take to help the diamond industry, including giving the industry the same help it gives to other small-to-medium exporters, such as a 2 percent interest subsidy on loans; convincing banks to lend diamond companies money in dollars instead of rupees; and not taxing diamond companies for foreign exchange hedging.

Date: 2008-02-09 Time: 14.15 PM

» Rio Tinto posts fall in diamond production in 2007

Source: AFNS Diamond production at diversified miner Rio Tinto in the fourth quarter fell 18 percent to 7.807 million carats due to substantially lower production from its main Argyle mine in Australia. For the whole year, Rio Tinto's diamond output dropped 26 percent to 26.023 million carats. Rio Tinto owns the Argyle mine, and holds a 60 percent stake in the Diavik mine in Canada’s Northwest Territories and a 78 percent share in Murowa Diamonds in Zimbabwe. Production in the fourth quarter at Argyle slumped 25 percent to 5.995 million carats, while output in 2007 dropped 36 percent to 18.744 million carats. Meanwhile, Rio Tinto's share of output at Diavik jumped 18 percent to 1.766 million carats in the fourth quarter of last year, and by an even higher 22 percent to 7.166 million for all of 2007. Rio Tinto's Murowa mine share produced 46,000 carats of diamonds in the final quarter of last year, a rise of 18 percent from the same quarter of 2006.

Date: 2008-02-08 Time: 13.34 AM

» DTC Botswana creating jobs, growth in local diamond industry

Source: AFNS As the Diamond Trading Company (DTC) Botswana prepares to start operations, it has placed classified ads in local newspapers for 18 jobs in human resources, finance, information technology and corporate communications and public affairs. Kago Mmopi, a Botswana citizen who has worked as an executive with Orange Botswana and Barclays Bank, has been named corporate communications and public affairs manager. The move of the DTC’s rough diamond sorting and aggregation operations to Botswana, and its agreement to provide $500 million worth of suitable stones a year to local diamond polishing companies starting in 2010, are expected to create 3,000 downstream jobs. All but one of the 16 companies granted diamond polishing licenses by the Botswana government are up and running, according to the Ministry of Minerals, Energy and Water Resources. Lazare Kaplan Botswana is the only company not yet operating; the others are Teemane Manufacturing Company, Eurostar Botswana, Leo Schachter, Diamond Manufacturing, Safdico Botswana, Ascot Diamonds, Suashish Diamonds, Pluczenik Diamond Company, Rand Precision Cut Diamonds, Yerushalmi Bros. Diamonds, H&A Cutting Works, Zebra Diamonds, the Dalumi Group and DDA.

Date: 2008-02-07 Time: 17.19 PM

» HRD Antwerp appoints Emile Schoeters as new Senior Manager of HRD Diamond Lab

Source: AFNS HRD Antwerp NV, which provides grading, gemmological, educational, technological and research services to the international diamond and jewellery industries, has named Emile Schoeters as the new Senior Manager of the HRD Diamond Lab. He replaces Anita Dillen, who left the organisation at the end of 2007. Mr. Schoeters joins HRD Antwerp from Agfa-Gevaert, where he served as a key manager. He holds both a doctorate in nuclear physics and an MBA, and comes with extensive experience as a team leader in an international science-based business environment. In his new role Mr. Schoeters will be responsible for the daily management of the HRD Diamond Lab, and for the formulation of the laboratory’s business strategy. Among the challenges that he will face right at the outset is expanding and optimising the lab’s grading capacity. This is necessary to meet the growing demand for HRD Antwerp diamond certificates, which reached unprecedented levels in 2006 and 2007. “With his excellent managerial skills and experience, and his strong scientific background, we are confident that Emile is ideally suited to head the HRD Diamond Lab,” said Georges Brys, general manager of HRD Antwerp. “The almost exponential rise in demand for our grading reports has provided us with a tremendous opportunity for growth. Emile, who is intimately familiar with the demands of a science-based enterprise in a market environment, is the right person to take the HRD Diamond Lab further into the future.” HRD Antwerp NV is the recently created subsidiary of the Antwerp World Diamond Centre (AWDC), the private foundation formerly known as the Hoge Raad voor Diamant (HRD). HRD Antwerp operates six services : HRD Diamond Lab, the first ISO-certified diamond lab, which issues one of the world’s most respected diamond certificates; HRD Precious Stones Lab; HRD Education; HRD Graduates Club; HRD Equipment and HRD Research. The HRD Diamond Lab is NBN EN ISO/IEC 17025- certified.

Date: 2008-02-06 Time: 10.23 AM

» DTC lifts suspension of suspended sightholders in Antwerp

Source: AFNS In a statement released January 22, the Diamond Trading Company confirmed that it had lifted the suspension of rough diamond supplies to four Antwerp-based DTC sightholders, who had been named in a judgment by Antwerp Court of First Instance, in the so-called Brenig case. The suspension had first been imposed on January 8. According to the statement, the DTC said it had conducted interviews with the sightholders concerned, and considering each separate case on its merits it was lifting its suspension of supply. Where relevant, the DTC stated, it will need confirmation that appropriate remedial action has been taken. In its statement, the DTC thanked the sightholders concerned for “their prompt and full cooperation in assisting the DTC with its enquiries.”

Date: 2008-02-05 Time: 18.25PM

» Blue Hope Diamond glows red in ultraviolet light

Source: AFNS The famous 45.52 carat blue stone known as the Hope Diamond glows red when viewed under ultraviolet light, Jeffrey Port, curator of the National Gem Collection at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C, said. Port and other scientists studied the stone and other examples of very rare natural blue diamonds loaned by diamond dealers and reported on their finds in the journal Geology. Port said the red color the Hope Diamond displays under ultraviolet light comes from trace amounts of the element boron, which makes the stone appear blue in normal light. The unique mix of boron and nitrogen now known to exist in the Hope Diamond could help researchers determine whether the Hope Diamond was cut from a much larger rough stone from India that also yielded part of the pre-Revolutionary French crown jewels, he said.

Date: 2008-02-04 Time: 11.21AM

» Diamond tennis tourney to feature Justine Henin and other stars

Source: AFNS The annual Diamond Games in Antwerp February 11-17 will feature tennis stars Serena Williams, who won the Australian Open, and Justine Henin, who is top-ranked. Other players among the top 20 in the sport who will take part in the Diamond Games are Anna Chakvetadze of Russia, Daniela Hantuchova of Slovakia and Tatiana Golovin of France. The diamond-studded tennis racket that is the tournament’s top prize is worth 1 million euros ($1.49 million). To win it, a player must triumph in any three out of five years. Amelie Mauresmo of France won the trophy last year but will not compete this year. The 2008 version of the racket has stones cut this year embedded in it.

Date: 2008-02-03 Time: 09.15AM

» Tiffany sponsoring ‘Fair Trade Diamond’ feasibility study

Source: AFNS TransFair USA has received a $100,000 grant from the Tiffany & Co. Foundation to explore the feasibility of a “Fair Trade Certification” for diamonds. The company will do research to see if “fair trade” can provide a mechanism to help the most disempowered and disenfranchised people in the diamond supply chain through a transparent and equitable system. The first step in this process is a feasibility study to determine with the help of experts whether it is possible to develop and pilot a standards and certification system for the entire industry. The study is beginning in the early months of 2008. TransFair USA seeks to reward firms that take the lead on socially and environmentally responsible sourcing in the industry by allowing them to participate in sourcing and certifying their supply chains. Fair Trade certification for any product requires identifying viable sources and supply chains; delivering impact to worker or farmer communities; solving the social and environmental problems that have traditionally plagued the industry and its stakeholders; creating long-term development opportunities and solutions to poverty in the sector; a pricing mechanism to promote development and a more equitable model of trade; and viable global markets for the products.

Date: 2008-02-02 Time: 17.19 PM

» Canadian miner begins diamond mining in Namibia

Source: AFNS Canadian diamond miner, Dahava Resources Limited, has started limited production at its Lower Orange River project in Namibia. Exploration and production sampling have produced promising results indicating commercially viable diamondiferous gravel deposits, the company said. Dahava has announced in the past that diamond grades for the gravels in its project area have historically varied between 0.3 to 2.7 carats per hundred ton. Grades and value from the area tested at between 1.3 to 1.78 carats per hundred ton. The average size is 2.02 carats, with the stones being mostly gem quality.

Date: 2008-02-01 Time: 12.25 PM

» Major diamond find reported in northern Canada

Source: AFNS Some 862 rough diamonds have been found at a property in Nunavut in Canada’s Far North owned by Vancouver, British Columbia-based Diamonds North Resources Ltd. On January 8, the company announced that it found 550 diamonds in an 81.75 kilogramg sample from the Tuktu-1 kimberlite on its wholly owned Amaruk property in the Pelly Bay Diamond District of Nunavut. More than 90 percent of the diamonds recovered from the 0.30-millimeter mesh and above are white, with the majority being clear octahedral crystals forms, the company said. The news more than doubled the company’s stock price. Diamonds North has discovered 22 kimberlites to date on the Amaruk property, and there are 500 compelling geophysical targets that remain to be tested. Tuktu-1 is located on a 1.2 hectare area. The company said it views these results as very significant “because it is generally considered highly positive to recover one diamond per kilogram of kimberlite.” Tuktu-1 has yielded nearly 7 diamonds per kilogram, comparable to initial results from some of the top diamond producing kimberlites in Canada. On January 14, the company announced further high diamond counts from the Qavvik-3 and Qavvik-4 kimberlites at Amaruk. A 72.8 kilogram sample from Qavvik 3 yielded 183 diamonds, and a 65.7 kilogram sample from Qavvik-4 yielded 129 diamonds. These kimberlites are part of the Qavvik kimberlite cluster, which is approximately 15 kilometres from Tuktu-1. The diamond count for Qavvik-3 is 2.5 diamonds per kilogram, and for Qavvik 4 it is 2 diamonds per kilogram.

Date: 2008-01-31 Time: 09.56 AM

» De Beers to start paying out $295 million settlement of U.S. lawsuit

Source: AFNS Individual consumers and members of the diamond trade are eligible to claim part of a proposed $295 million settlement of a series of class action lawsuits against De Beers in the United States, according to the “Diamonds Claims Administrator.” The payout is subject to final court approval on April 14. The lawsuits allege that De Beers charged anticompetitive prices for the rough diamonds it sold, monopolized the rough diamond market and disseminated false and misleading advertising. They are not to be confused with the $10 million De Beers agreed to pay the U.S. Department of Justice in 2004 to settle its antitrust claim. The company has been trying to settle all outstanding U.S. and European antitrust claims in the past few years as it moves into the retail diamond jewelry business and rehabilitates its corporate image. The $295 million will be distributed to two groups, or classes, of purchasers: the “Direct Purchaser Class” and the “Indirect Purchaser Class.” The Direct Purchaser Class includes persons or businesses, other than Diamond Trading Company sightholders, who purchased any gem diamonds directly from De Beers or one of its diamond mining competitors between September 20, 1997 and March 31, 2006. The Indirect Purchaser Class includes persons or businesses who purchased gem diamonds, diamond jewelry, or other products containing diamonds from someone other than De Beers or one of its mining competitors between January 1, 1994 and March 31, 2006. Indirect purchasers include consumers and resellers (businesses that purchased gem diamonds and diamond products for resale). “This Proposed Settlement will provide a cash benefit to consumers who purchased diamonds or diamond jewelry, and broad injunctive relief addressing the conduct alleged in the complaints,” Josef Cooper of the San Francisco-based law firm Cooper & Kirkham, co-counsel for the consumer subclass said.

Date: 2008-01-30 Time: 11.50 AM

» Turkey aiming to launch diamond and precious stones bourse

Source: AFNS Recognizing the growing popularity of diamond jewelry, Turkey plans to open a diamond bourse later this month. The eventual aim is to create a regional trading center for diamonds. The market will start operations in the trading of rough and polished diamonds within Istanbul Gold Exchange, said the exchange’s vice president Oguzhan Aloglu. There is rising domestic demand from Turkey's young people and a move away from traditional jewelry, as well as the possibility of attracting customers in the region, particularly from Dubai and Israel. The latter is a major diamond trading center. Turkish weddings, like their Indian counterparts, usually feature the giving of gold jewelry, however with gold prices rising dramatically, consumers are looking to add value by including diamonds. Aloglu estimates Turkish rough diamond sales at approximately $600 million, with diamond jewelry sales of approximately $1.2 billion, according to comments he made to Reuters. Turkey buys mostly semi-polished or polished diamonds from Belgium, Dubai and Israel. Aloglu predicted the rapid growth of diamond polishing companies and business, but said a 20 percent import tax, also known as a special consumption tax, on diamond imports might be an impediment. He said the industry was working to find a way to end the tax. Turkey became a member of the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme in August.

Date: 2008-01-29 Time: 13.10 PM

» WFDB mourns death of diamantaires in Namibian plane crash

Source: AFNS Ernest Blom, president of the World Federation of Diamond Bourses, and WFDB Secretary General Michael Vaughan have issued a statement expressing shock and sadness over the tragic death of five Israeli diamantaires in a plane crash that occurred over the weekend in the Namibian capital of Windhoek. "We offer our condolences to the families of Shlomo Zilberberg, Shmuel Tzuri (Zigdon), Amit Cohen, Ilan Adadi and Avichai Avaro, who lost their lives in this tragic accident," Blom and Vaughan stated . "The international diamond community always cares for the welfare of its members and in times of a disaster of this proportion bows its head in mourning with the families and the Israeli diamond business community." The five diamantaires and their local pilot, who also was killed, were on their way to the north of Namibia for a short weekend safari. Reportedly, the Israelis were employed by Nam-Gem, a Namibia-based diamond company.

Date: 2008-01-28 Time: 09.11AM

» Strong demand and shortages to boost diamond prices this year

Source: AFNS Prices of rough diamonds, particularly high-quality stones, will rise further this year as demand surpasses supply, said World Federation of Diamond Bourses President Ernie Blom. Rough prices will increase due to shortages, increased demand from countries such as China and India, he said. Blom pointed out that De Beers had already increased prices by 3.5 percent across all its goods at the first sight of the year, which could set a precedent for other diamond suppliers. In addition, the surge in the number of junior diamond miners that listed on stock exchanges last year, or planned to float in the first part of this year, indicated that there was a strong market for the stones. Blom noted that the shortage of diamonds would not affect all goods, stressing that there was an oversupply in the lower-value range. Blom’s comments were supported by South African diamond industry analyst James Allan, who predicted "modest" price increases in 2008, of around 5 percent across all types of goods. Allan believes U.S. demand for polished diamonds will fall this year, as economic indicators regarding growth and the job market decline. To a certain extent, however, the falling American demand would be offset by rising demand from India, China and the Middle East. "They are not close to the U.S. at the moment, but, in a couple of years time, they will be major consumers of diamonds," he told Mining Weekly Online.

Date: 2008-01-27 Time: 18.50 PM

» Belgium post sharply higher polished exports in 2007

Source: AFNS The Belgian diamond industry reported strong polished diamond export figures for December and 2007 as a whole, according to statistics released by the AWDC Diamond Office. Polished exports for December in terms of volume rose 11.20 percent to 719,773.79 carats, and in terms of value by 15.51 percent to $886.4 million. For all of last year, polished exports increased by 7.20 percent to 9.36 million carats, and by 13.01 percent to $10.7 billion. Meanwhile, polished imports in December showed a 5.75 percent increase to 616,955.82 carats, and by 14.62 percent to $718.6 million. For all of 2007, polished imports showed a 4.96 percent increase to 9.74 million carats, and an 11.06 percent rise to $9.99 billion. In imports and exports of rough diamonds, Antwerp showed a large rise in price per carat both for December and the year as a whole. Rough exports showed a 0.14 percent increase in volume in December terms to 13.14 million carats, and a 16.13 percent jump by value to $1.07 billion. For all of 2007, there was a 5.17 percent rise in volume to 142.9 million carats, and a 15.28 percent increase in value to $11.4 billion. Rough imports in December were down 2.26 percent in volume on December 2006 to 9.34 million carats, but 19.31 percent higher in value at $803.5 million. For the whole of 2007, rough imports were down 1.71 percent in volume terms to 133.6 million carats, but 10.52 percent up by value to $10.2 billion.

Date: 2008-01-26 Time: 10.00 AM

» Astronomers discover largest diamond in the galaxy

Source: AFNS The largest diamond in the known galaxy has been discovered by astronomers at Harvard University. Called 'Lucy' and located 50 light years from the Earth, the diamond planet is the heart of an extinct star that used to shine like the Sun, and weighs at least 10 billion trillion trillion carats. The astronomers said that Lucy is a crystallized white dwarf, the remaining hot core of a dead star. They added that in five billion years, our Sun will also die and turn into a similar diamond which will forever sparkle in the center of the solar system.

Date: 2008-01-25 Time: 08.45 AM

» Severalmaz to sell diamonds from Lomonsov this year

Source: AFNS Severalmaz, a mining company 90 percent owned by Russian diamond giant Alrosa, will begin selling rough diamonds in 2008, according to Interfax. Severalmaz is developing the Lomonosov diamond deposit in the Arkhangelsk region which was discovered in 1980, Interfax reported. Severalmaz predicts that around $12 billion of diamonds will be recovered from the deposit, with more than half expected to be of gem quality. "In 2008 we plan to start up operations at a number of points in phase two of the Lomonosov project, which will enable the company to attain a qualitatively new level of production operations," Severalmaz President Nikolai Abramov told Interfax, A service of the Antwerp Facets News Service (AFNS). Article may be reproduced provided that credit is given to AFNS. [AFNS] MOSCOW, RUSSIA 09 January 2008– Severalmaz, a mining company 90 percent owned by Russian diamond giant Alrosa, will begin selling rough diamonds in 2008, according to Interfax. Severalmaz is developing the Lomonosov diamond deposit in the Arkhangelsk region which was discovered in 1980, Interfax reported. Severalmaz predicts that around $12 billion of diamonds will be recovered from the deposit, with more than half expected to be of gem quality. "In 2008 we plan to start up operations at a number of points in phase two of the Lomonosov project, which will enable the company to attain a qualitatively new level of production operations," Severalmaz President Nikolai Abramov told Interfax.

Date: 2008-01-24 Time: 10.00 AM

» DTC’s sales in South Africa seen falling by 2 million carats

Source: AFNS The Diamond Trading Company (DTC) predicts future sales in South Africa of around 12-million carats annually, down from approximately 14-million carats following the sale of four of De Beers Consolidated Mines' local operations. In value terms, the forecast fall amounts to around $700 million. But, noted DTC Managing Director Faried Sallie, while De Beers own output will be down, South African rough production should remain steady. This is because De Beers has sold several of rough diamond producing resources to new operators. De Beers has sold its Kimberley underground mine as well as diamond-containing dumps around Kimberley in the past two years in addition to its Koffiefontein and Cullinan mines. De Beers winding down on operations has caused a good deal of anxiety in the veteran mining town, and the diamond company is keen to avoid leaving a vacuum in its wake. In a bid to expand diamond operations around Kimberley, the DTC SA offices are being moved to the historic diamond area from Johannesburg. The move is aimed at encouraging sightholders to establish factories in Kimberley. DTC Sa also is mulling the setting-up of a diamond academy in Kimberley to teach the skills needed in cutting and polishing plants.

Date: 2008-01-23 Time: 08.45 AM

» Angola summit expected to approve industry code of conduct

Source: AFNS A senior Angolan official said a world diamond summit due to take place in the country in November 2009 will approve a code of conduct for the diamond industry. Aimed at diamond producing states, the code of conduct will target the use of diamonds in prolonging conflicts. Alberto Françony, director of planning and development at state diamond company Endiama, said the conference would also discuss issues relating to environmental protection and areas around diamond mines. The summit, due to be held in Luanda, the Angolan capital, will also include technical meetings, a diamond fair and meetings between government officials and the heads of diamond companies. The Angolan delegation is predicted to be 250 strong, while 400 foreign visitors are expected to attend.

Date: 2008-01-22 Time: 13.11 PM

» Endiama to float on new Angolan stock exchange

Source: AFNS Endiama, the Angolan state-owned diamond company, is among 27 companies planning to list on the Angolan Stock Exchange and Derivatives (BVDA). The BVDA is due to start operations in the first quarter of this year. The 27 companies include several banks, insurance corporation Ensa and oil company Sonangol.Endiama is involved in diamond mining, prospecting and trading in Angola. The establishment of the BVDA is meant to help diversify means of financing the Angolan economy and enhancing transparency in financing public and private firms. In the opinion of the Angolan government, the existence of a capital market in the country, through a stock exchange, would enable investors to render lucrative their financial assets, placing them at the disposal of both the state and the private sector.

Date: 2008-01-21 Time: 09.00 AM

» Diamond training school established in Ghana

Source: AFNS Diamond training institute has been opened in the Accra, the capital of Ghana, to teach members of the Ghanaian diamond and jewelry industries about diamond identification, manufacturing, and grading, according to the Ghana News Agency. Called the Natural Diamond Training Institute, the new school is offering a two-month course for high school graduates during which they learn how to identify, cut and polish rough diamonds. Speaking to the Ghana News Agency, the school’s director, T. Raj Maheswaran, said that the students were also being taught marketing of diamonds, so that they could develop the entrepreneurial skills to establish their own companies.

Date: 2008-01-20 Time: 16.30 PM

» Monroe Minerals says Angolan diamond site may lack diamonds

Source: AFNS Canada-based Monroe Minerals Inc. said that there may not be enough diamonds at its Cangandala Project diamond exploration program in Angola to be worth further prospecting. This preliminary conclusion comes from “deficiencies in both the nature of the potential source of diamonds and the depositional environment of the Cuanza River in the Cangandala Concession, along with [a] lack of enthusiasm shown by local garimpeiros [artisanal miners],” the company said. “Although diamonds have been, and will continue to be found by local garimpeiros, there may not be substantial resources within the confines of the project area that can be mined on a commercial scale.” Field exploration at Cangandala ended in December. Since heavy rainfall made transport impossible, only half the program was completed, and any further field program must await the end of the rain season in Angola next May, the company said. Monroe is engaged in the exploration and development of gem-quality diamond properties in southern Africa and in putting together an international portfolio of uranium projects.

Date: 2008-01-19 Time: 14.15 PM

» India fears impact of changes to DTC sightholder list

Source: AFNS India’s Gems and Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) fears the country’s diamond industry will be hit badly by the Diamond Trading Company's (DTC) axing of eight sightholders from its list. The DTC has cut 25 sightholders from its list overall. In addition to the eight firms in India, it has cut three Indian-owned firms in Antwerp. The GJEPC said it predicts a 25 percent shortage in rough diamonds to the country after March following the DTC's decision. It has the DTC to “review and reconsider its decision-making process.” In 2006, the DTC supplied rough diamonds worth $1.7 billon to India out of a total of $8 billon of rough imports. The GJEPC estimates around 150,000 diamond workers will lose their jobs due to the shortfall in rough diamonds and a fall in exports caused by the weakening of the US dollar against the Indian rupee. GJEPC chairman Sanjay Kothari said India would have to develop alternative rough sources and would request the Indian government to promote local mining.

Date: 2008-01-18 Time: 13.34 AM

» Rosy Blue mulls commodities investment

Source: AFNS Rosy Blue (India) Private Ltd, the Mumbai-based subsidiary of the Antwerp-headquartered Rosy Blue Group of Companies, is reportedly moving into commodities and is also planning to set up a diamond cutting and processing plant near Palanpur, according to the Indian newspaper Business Standard. Rosy Blue is considering either a castor seed processing or an isabgul plant in Banaskantha in Gujarat. It has sought 50 acres of land from the state government for the purpose, said the Indian arm of the Rosy Blue group. “Diamonds being the core business for us, we thought of getting into a second or third leg business,” said Russell Mehta, chief operating officer of the group in India. “Moreover, as a corporate social responsibility, we came across the idea of buying 50 acres of barren land from farmers. Though the company is yet to decide whether it would set up a castor seed processing plant or an isabgul plant, ultimately we intend to generate some more job opportunities in the region.” Mehta said company shareholders would meet soon to make investment decisions. Mehta added that Rosy Blue would also be establishing a manufacturing plant via one of its shareholders, Banaskantha Industries Private Limited, near Palanpur. “As of now, we are satisfied with our diamond cutting and processing capacity. Yet, the new plant is again an effort to generate more employment in that region,” he said. Via a joint venture with jewelry retailer company Popley & Sons, Rosy Blue also aims to enter the Gulf market.

Date: 2008-01-17 Time: 17.19 PM

» Rio Tinto says it may suspend $60 million investment over proposed Zimbabwe law

Source: AFNS Rio Tinto says it may reconsider a planned U.S. $60 million in a diamond project in Zimbabwe if the Mugabe government moves to implement its Indigenization and Economic Empowerment Bill. Rio Tinto holds 56 percent of Rio Tinto Zimbabwe, which owns and operates the Murowa diamond mine. The Indigenization and Economic Empowerment Bill has already been passed by the Zimbabwean parliament, but it is still President Robert Mugabe's signature to become law. The requires all foreign owned companies to have a major shareholder who is local. Rio Tinto also expressed concern about Zimbabwe’s foreign exchange regulations, which requires mining companies to source foreign exchange at the official rate, which currently is Zim. $30 000 to one U.S. dollar. The rate available on the open market is more than Zim. $2 million to one U.S. dollar. Rio Tinto had intended to invest U.S. $60 million in a new diamond mining venture, but it may be changing its mind. "It seems there will be no change in the pricing regime in the foreseeable future and further decisions about the mine's future may have to be made in light of the proposed empowerment laws," the company said in an official statement. The Zimbabwe parliament is also considering the Mines and Minerals Amendment Bill. It will give the government the authority to purchase 51 percent of foreign companies holding in local mines that produce “strategic fuels and minerals. According to the proposed law, up to 25 percent of the 51 percent could be taken without money changing hands, and the remaining 26 percent would have to be paid for under a five-year plan.

Date: 2008-01-16 Time: 10.23 AM

» Celebrity engagement and personal jewelry stars diamonds

Source: AFNS The popularity of diamonds remains undiminished among celebrities who received engagement, wedding or other personal jewelry in 2007, one list reveals. Actress Brittany Murphy got two platinum Neil Lane engagement rings from new husband Simon Monjack. One contained a 5 carat yellow diamond center stones surrounded by a circle of smaller white stones, and the other features a 6.5 carat cushion cut diamond set on a diamond-encrusted band. Model-actress Elizabeth Hurley received an engagement ring with a 15.09 carat Asscher cut diamond in the center. The white gold band, which was set with smaller pave diamonds, came from Chopard’s “Haute Joallerie” collection at Chopard; the same jeweler made Hurley’s white gold wedding band, which is set with 20 square-cut 3.91 carat diamonds. Victoria’s Secret model Selita Ebanks received a Jacob & Co. engagement ring set with a 15 carat cushion cut diamond from Nick Cannon, although she stopped wearing it in October. Ivana Trump received a platinum engagement ring from Rossano Rubicondi. The ring’s center stone is a 12 carat emerald-cut diamond. It was designed by Ivana’s daughter Ivanka Trump, whose name is associated with Diamond Trading Company sightholder Dynamic Diamonds. Actor Charlie Sheen gave his fiancé Brooke Mueller a platinum engagement band set with an 11 carat, radiant cut fancy yellow diamond. Comic actor Eddie Murphy gave his fiancé Tracey Edmonds an 8 carat fancy yellow diamond engagement ring from Cartier in July. Actress Kate Walsh received a Neil Lane engagement ring set with a Jubilee-cut diamond in May. Actress Jennifer Love Hewitt received a heirloom engagement ring set with a large center diamond surrounded by 10 smaller white diamonds from fiancé Ross McCall. Australian singer Delta Goodrem received a diamond solitaire ring from Brian McFadden, and actress Heidi Montag received a platinum engagement ring with a lemon amethyst center stone surrounded by small diamonds from actor Spencer Pratt, who co-stars with her on “The Hills.”

Date: 2008-01-15 Time: 17.08 PM

» Diamond finds at Arkansas park reach 1,000 for the year

Source: AFNS A 48-year-old handyman named Denis Tyrrell found the 1,000th diamond unearthed in the Crater of Diamond State Park at Murfreesboro, Arkansas so far in 2007. Tyrell spotted the light brown, rectangular, 3.48 carat rough stone in a hole he had already filled in. This brought the total number of stones he has found at the park to 131, yet he still lives in a tent at a local rock shop, according to a news report. The last time more than 1,000 diamonds were found in the state park in a single year was 1994, park interpreter Kim Garland said. The largest diamond ever found at the park was a 16.37 carat white diamond dubbed the Amarillo Starlight, which a Texas tourist found in 1975, three years after the park opened.

Date: 2008-01-14 Time: 15.25 PM

» Diamond Fields International produces 18,139 carats of undersea diamonds

Source: AFNS South Africa’s Diamond Fields International Ltd. (DFI) and joint venture partner Bonaparte Diamond Mines NL produced 42,827 diamonds weighing 18,139 carats, at an average size of 0.42 carats per stone, in joint undersea diamond mining areas off the coast of Namibia. With the end of the Southern Hemisphere winter, diamond production improved in October, with the recovery of 4,864 diamonds weighing 1,894 carats. Production in September totaled 1,618 carats. DFI recently sold a parcel containing 1,889 carats of the offshore Namibian rough, resulting in gross revenue of $388,303 at an average price of $205.55 per carat. Total joint sales of diamonds produced through October 21 were 17,455 carats sold for $3,799,772, at an average price of $217.69 per carat. Exploratory sampling conducted by Napoleon turned up seven new diamond deposits, “which will support joint mining operations through 2008-2009,” DFI President and CEO Roger Daniel said. At the ML111 joint operations area, which is thought to contain an “indicated” resource of 63,000 carats, the companies found 451 diamonds weighing approximately 160 carats total in 290 positive samples taken this year. This represented a 68 percent increase in the number of samples with diamonds in them and an 85 percent increase in the number of samples in which more than one diamond was found.

Date: 2008-01-13 Time: 08.45 AM

» Gem Diamonds to mine in Central African Republic next year

Source: AFNS London-based mining firm Gem Diamonds will start rough diamond production from an alluvial site in the Central African Republic in the second half of 2008, John Brook, general manager of Gem Diamond Centrafrique, said. Brook said the firm wants to establish that there are at least 500,000 carats of stones at the site, which is located along a forested riverbank near the town of Berberati, 300 km southwest of the capital Bangui. The intention is to produce 100,000 carats of rough a year. The grade of the ore at the site ranges from 100 carats per hundred tones (cpht) in the riverbed down to 20 cpht on some terraces on the banks. The company has invested $8 million in equipment at the site so far and has $4 million in operating costs a year. Freelance diggers are active on the 800 square km concession, which Gem Diamonds started exploring in April, but Brook said they do not pose a problem. The government of the Central African Republic owns a 25 percent stake in the site, similar to the situation at one of Gem Diamonds’ other mines, Letseng in Lesotho, where the company owns a 70 percent stake and the government holds the balance. The firm also owns the Cempaka Diamond Mine in Indonesia and mines diamonds in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The Central African Republic officially produces 500,000 carats of rough a year, but government officials think two to three times that amount is smuggled out of the country. Diamonds from the poor and politically unstable country are renowned for their high quality.

Date: 2008-01-12 Time: 13.11 PM

» Harry Winston sales up 22 percent to end of October

Source: AFNS Harry Winston Diamond Corporation reported a 22 percent increase in sales, to $176.5 million, in the three months ending October 31, with the growth all in rough diamond sales from the Diavik Diamond Mine, rather than from its fine jewelry stores. The company reports in U.S. dollars although it is based in Canada; formerly known as Aber Diamond Corp., it has adopted the name of the U.S. fine jewelry company Harry Winston, which it bought out and turned into a wholly owned subsidiary. On the down side, the company reported a $40.6 million foreign exchange loss, primarily resulting from the revaluation of future income taxes. As a result, the Company posted a net loss of $7.4 million, compared with net earnings of $18.8 million the prior year. Otherwise net earnings would have been $33.2 million. Harry Winston holds a 40 percent stake in the Diavik Diamond Mine in Canada’s Northwest Territories. Its 60 percent partner in the mine, Rio Tinto, has approved a two-year capital program to complete the development of an underground mine, which should secure the future of the mine beyond 2020, Harry Winston said. Harry Winston is arranging credit for the estimated $218 million more it will have to contribute to complete this project, on top of the $77 million it contributed last year. Harry Winston’s mining revenues increased 35 percent to $122.7 million in the quarter. The company held three primary rough diamond sales during this period, and continues to expand its rough diamond sales network, now conducting sales at offices in Belgium, Israel and India. Mining earnings from operations were $70 million, up 72 percent. The company’s 40 percent share of the Diavik production amounted to 1.249 million carats in the quarter ending September 30, compared with 1.132 million last year, and in the first nine months of the year the company’s share was 3.6 million carats, compared with 2.934 million carats last year. Harry Winston’s retail diamond jewelry business reported sales of $53.8 million in the quarter ending October 31, compared with $54.5 million for the comparable quarter of the prior year. International sales increased 16 percent to $34.4 million as a result of increases in existing store sales and sales from three new salons, which helped offset the effects of a robbery at the Paris Salon and a 22 percent decline in U.S. sales, which fell to $19.4 million. The retail jewelry segment reported a loss from operations of $3.6 million, compared with a loss of $3.5 million last year. As of October 31, the company operated 16 salons, compared with 12 salons last year. In addition, during the quarter the company opened a new watch manufacturing facility in Geneva.

Date: 2008-01-11 Time: 17.19 PM

» Demand will continue to outstrip supply on world markets

Source: AFNS Demand will outrun supply in the world diamond market over the next few years, analyst James Allan of the South African firm Allan Hochreiter said. While supply is growing 1 percent a year, demand is growing 4 to 5 percent, meaning that every year $650 million worth of demand is being added to the $13 billion rough diamond market, he said. That annual growth in demand is about half the size of total South African production, he noted. Since 2002, diamond prices have gone up 35–40 percent, he added. This makes investment in diamonds and diamond companies a good idea, he said. While China is adding to the growth in demand for diamonds, the effect is not yet as substantial as the hype might lead one to think because China still accounts for only 3 percent of the world diamond market, Allan said. Allan, who advised the diamond mining firm Rockwell Ventures on its recent IPO, said there will be a good deal of consolidation in the next few years among the 30 or so second-tier diamond companies that tend to engage in much more exploration than actual production. In South Africa, Petra Diamonds will probably be very successful at extracting a profit from the Cullinan Mine, which it just bought from De Beers, as it already has with the Koffiefontein Mine, Allan said. De Beers, meanwhile, will have to make a difficult decision as to whether to extend the Finsch Mine underground, as it has decided to do at Venetia.

Date: 2008-01-10 Time: 10.23 AM

» DTC Botswana sightholder complains of low rough diamond supply

Source: AFNS A sightholder of De Beers’ new Diamond Trading Company (DTC) Botswana has written to the country’s government to complain that it is being allotted only 70 percent of the rough diamonds it had received prior to the new three-year contract period. The problem may be due to the fact that while DTC Botswana has already started operations, the planned move of DTC International’s rough diamond sorting and aggregating operations is still some months off, causing some confusion about which company is responsible for supplying which customers with rough, according to an analysis in the local newspaper Mmegi. DTC Botswana Managing Director Brian Mcdonald said the company does not comment on customer supply issues. Diamond Manufacturing Botswana, which like the DTC Botswana is part government-owned, said it is a true local polishing firm that has invested $3 million in new and refurbished equipment, skills transfer and working capital. The firm said it needs at least $35 million of rough in its 2008-2009 fiscal year to meet its commitments, and added that it would like to receive all those stones in the first three months of that period. “Beneficiation,” the availability of locally produced rough for local diamond polishing companies, is a rallying cry throughout southern Africa and has led to the establishment of the DTC Botswana and De Beers’ move of DTC International’s sorting and aggregation operations to Botswana.

Date: 2008-01-09 Time: 15.01 PM

» De Beers Marine Namibia expects record production

Source: AFNS De Beers Marine Namibia expects to exceed last year’s record production levels of more than 1 million carats of rough stones this year, Managing Director Otto Shikongo said. This compares with production of 506,000 carats in 2002, when the company began operations. However, the lack of local skilled manpower for offshore diamond mining is a problem, Shikongo said. From 2003 to 2006, De Beers Marine Namibia spent N$84 million (U.S.$12.2 million) on training programs. The company needs and will train engineering and deck cadets, technicians, electricians, production drillers, crawler pilots, ship’s officers and crew, and apprentices. Currency exchange rates (the weak U.S. dollar) and high fuel costs are other problems the company faces, Shikongo said. Shikongo and Namibian Minister of Mines and Energy Erkki Nghimtina agreed that the future of diamond mining in Namibia increasingly lies offshore, as land-based diamond resources are dwindling after almost 100 years of exploitation.

Date: 2008-01-08 Time: 07.30 AM

» Alrosa shifts foreign focus to Africa

Source: AFNS Alrosa, the Russian government-controlled diamond mining monopoly, will set up a holding company to manage its investments in Africa, including its Angolan operations and cooperative ventures with local producers and traders. The new subsidiary will take the form of a holding company based in St. Petersburg. The Russian national government has been seeking to gain a majority stake in Alrosa for several years, through a variety of opaque transactions. The national government is said to control approximately a 48 percent stake in the firm, with the balance held by the government of the autonomous Republic of Yakutia (site of the company’s massive Mir Mine), regional authorities in Yakutia and company executives.

Date: 2008-01-07 Time: 10.00 AM

» DTC confirms 79 sightholders for 2008-2011

Source: AFNS De Beers’ Diamond Trading Company (DTC) finalized its much anticipated list of sightholders for the March 31, 2008 to March 30, 2011 contract period December 17, and it had a total of only 79 names on it, down drastically from 93 in the preceding contract period. While the company is disclosing the numbers, it will not officially release the list itself until April, Louise Prior, head of corporate communications for the DTC International, told Antwerp Facets. Of the 79 companies, 75 will receive their supply through the DTC’s London or Johannesburg offices; six of the 75 are first-time sightholders. De Beers has also established a Namibia DTC and a DTC Botswana through separate joint venture agreements with the respective national governments. The Namibia DTC announced its list of 11 sightholders on October 4, and the DTC Botswana announced its list of 16 sightholders on November 14. Both of these companies released the full list of names when they made their announcements. There is a good deal of overlap between the separate sightholder lists. Many companies on the Botswana and Namibia list are local affiliates of DTC International sightholders. Nevertheless, the new sightholder lists represent a new era for the DTC as a whole. During the previous contract period (2005-07), the DTC sold all of its rough diamonds to clients entirely through the DTC International, which offered sights in London and Johannesburg. While not all the sightholder names were known at press time, a simple calculation suggests that at least 20 and perhaps as many as two dozen companies have had their sights taken away. The DTC’s explanation for this dramatic change was vague: “All applicants for the new sightholder contract have been through a fair and robust process that assessed applicants’ relative performance against clear and objective criteria, taking into consideration the availability of rough diamonds within the particular categories applicants requested. The criteria were designed to identify those applicants that demonstrated excellence in their technical ability, their distribution and marketing ability and the core strengths of their diamond business. Financial transparency and ethical accountability were mandatory requirements for all applicants.” The DTC added that it “is currently investigating ways in which it can retain its valued relationships with current sightholders that have not secured supply for the 2008-2011 contract period.” According to the Rapaport Group’s online diamond news service, the six new sightholders are A.S. Export, Arslanian Cutting Works NWT, Dharmanandan Diamonds Pvt. Ltd., Sahar Atid Diamonds Ltd., Shairu Gems and Yossi Glick Diamonds (2003) Ltd. As of December 18, the news service had also identified 62 veteran sightholders who have had their sights renewed: A. Dalumi Diamonds Ltd., Arjav Diamonds N.V., Asian Star Co. Ltd., Bhavani Gems, Blue Star, C. Mahendra Exports, Chow Tai Fook Jewellery Co. Ltd., D. Navinchandra & Co., D.D. Manufacturing N.V., Dali Diamond Company N.V., De Toledo Diamonds Ltd., Diamanthandel A. Spira BVBA, Diacor International, Digico Holdings Ltd., Dimexon Diamonds Ltd., E.F.D. Ltd., Eurostar Diamond Holdings, Exelco N.V., Festdiam, Fruchter Gad Diamonds Ltd., Gold Star Diamond Pvt. Ltd. (formerly RT Diamonds pvt.), IGC Group, JB Diamonds, Jewelex India Pvt. Ltd., Julius Klein Diamonds Inc., K. Girdharlal International Pvt. Ltd. , KGK Enterprises, K.P. Sanghvi & Sons, Karp Impex Ltd., Kiran Exports, Kristall Production Corporation OAO, L.I.D. Ltd., Laxmi Diamond Pvt. Ltd., Lazare Kaplan International, Leo Schachter & Company Ltd., Louis Glick & Company, M. Suresh Company Pvt. Ltd., Michael Werdiger Inc., Minestone, Mohit Diamonds Pvt. Ltd., Moti Ganz, Navin Gems, Overseas Diamonds , Pluczenik Diamond Co., Premier Gem Corp., Ramkrishna Exports, Rand Diamonds, Rosy Blue N.V., SAFDICO, Salant Group Ltd., Sanghavi Exports International Pvt. Ltd., Sheetal Manufacturing Co., Shrenuj & Company Limited, Star Diamond Group (Pty.) Ltd., Stuller Inc., SunDiamond bvda, Tache Company N.V., Tara Jewels Co., Tasaki Shinju Co. Ltd., Vijaydimon Bvba, YEI - Yahalomei Espeka International, and Yerushalmi Bros.

Date: 2008-01-06 Time: 09.56 AM

» Diamond sculpture sells for $11.8 million

Source: AFNS An enormous blue steel sculpture in the shape of a diamond sold for $11.8 million at Christie’s “Post-War & Contemporary Art Evening Sale” November 13. The sculpture by Jeff Koons is more than seven feet wide and almost eight feet tall. It was on display on top of four gold-colored prongs outside Christie’s offices in Manhattan’s Rockefeller Center before the sale. The seller was said to be publisher Benedict Taschen, who bought the sculpture shortly after it was completed in 2006 only to keep it in storage. The sale price was an all-time record for the artist.

Date: 2008-01-05 Time: 16.30 PM

» Australian firm gets diamond prospecting leases in India

Source: AFNS Australian mineral developer India Resources has received five prospecting leases in an area of Andhra Pradesh where diamonds have been found in the past. The area is part of the eastern Dharwar Archaean Craton of South India. India Resources Chairman Michael Kiernan said that two kimberlite pipes have been identified and mapped in previous drilling in the lease areas by another Australian prospecting firm, Dwyka Diamonds. “Preliminary drilling shows diamond associated indicator minerals within the project area, which displays diamond bearing potential,” Kiernan said. “The region is highly prospective for diamonds, and we have several strong anomalies which will be tested as part of an extensive exploration program to investigate for further pipes within the cluster. We expect to commence an aggressive exploration program in early 2008.” IRL is developing a number of potential diamond projects in India. The company has three primary diamond projects under exploration—Bundelkhand, Bhandara and Dharwar. The latter is an area where alluvial diamonds have been found in the past.

Date: 2008-01-04 Time: 09.15 AM

» South Africa gives tribe $66 million for diamond lands

Source: AFNS A tribe of aboriginal inhabitants in the Richtersveld, a remote area on South Africa’s northwestern coast near the Namibian border, has received an initial payment of R440 million ($65.9 million) from the South African government, in a payment to settle a series of lawsuits over the seizure of land for diamond mining 80 years ago. On December 1, Public Enterprises Minister Alec Erwin and Land Affairs Minister Lulu Xingwana formally handed over the deeds to 330 square miles of coastal land to the leaders of the 4,500 member Nama tribe. The local residents will also have a 49 percent stake in the Alexander Bay area operations of government-owned mining company Alexkor, and will get an additional R240 million ($36 million) in development grants in the next three years. The deal will enable the nearly moribund Alexkor to try to raise up to R200 billion ($30 billion) to recapitalize its operations. In the year ending in March 2006, Alexkor had an operating loss of R38.2 million ($5.7 million) and produced a record low 43,000 carats. The tribal residents have lifted their objections to the merger of Alexkor’s Namaqualand (Atlantic coast) operations with those of De Beers, a deal the government announced in February.

Date: 2008-01-03 Time: 07.32 AM

» Kimberley Process Chair Secretariat visits AWDC

Source: AFNS An Indian government delegation visited the Antwerp World Diamond Centre today in preparation of its Kimberley Process chair starting January 2008. Delegation members were Anu Sharma, Director of India’s Department of Commerce, V.K. Sharma, Sr. Technical Director of NIC and Kewal K. Duggal, Regional Director of the Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council. After visiting the AWDC’s Diamond Office, the delegation participants were informed on the industry self-regulation measures by members of the Antwerp diamond industry and bourses. As of 2008, India will be chairing the Kimberley Process, the joint government, international diamond industry and civil society initiative to set up a certification scheme for rough diamonds. The chair supervises the implementation of the Kimberly Process Certification Scheme (KPCS), the operations of the working groups and committees, and the general administration of the Process. The chair is elected every year at the plenary meeting.

Date: 2008-01-02 Time: 17.19 PM

» Simmons Jewelry Company holds eBay diamond auction

Source: AFNS The Simmons Jewelry Company established by hip hop star Russell Simmons has started a 10-day-long online auction of diamond jewelry and other items, with proceeds going to his Diamond Empowerment Fund for educational programs in African diamond producing nations. The Diamonds Give auction on the popular eBay auction website includes approximately 15 lots of donated diamond jewelry, including a diamond-set Ohm Watch from Simmons’ company and items donated by LL Cool J, Rev Run, Justine Simmons, Naomi Campbell and Cedric The Entertainer. Simmons reportedly started the charity after he was stung by criticism of his endorsement of the diamond trade.

Date: 2008-01-01 Time: 10.23 AM

» More than 10 million carats expected from Voorspoed

Source: AFNS De Beers’ new Voorspoed Mine in South Africa will produce more than 10 million carats of rough over its expected 12 to 16 year lifespan, at a rate of 850,000 to 900,000 carats a year starting in 2009. De Beers official Mike Brown said the mine will be about one-third the size of the Finsch Mine, which he once managed. It is currently 35 meters deep but will be dug to 306 to 420 meters in depth, across an area of 12.5 hectares. The first stones will emerge from the mine in June, and full production will be achieved by the end of 2008, six months earlier than initially expected. The mine is budgeted to cost R1.3 billion ($194 million). To date, R700 million ($105 million) has been spent and another R400 million ($60 million) has been set aside for the project. De Beers has owned the site since 1912 but is only able to exploit it now, due to advances in mining technology. De Beers Consolidated Mines, the South African arm of the group, owns a 74 percent stake in the mine, with the balance held by its black economic empowerment partner, Ponaholo Trust.

Date: 2007-12-31 Time: 15.01 PM

» De Beers says Ontario tax scaring off diamond mines

Source: AFNS Ontario’s raising of the diamond mining royalty from 5 percent to 13 percent is scaring off diamond mines, costing the province potential jobs and revenue, Jeremy Wyeth, vice president of De Beers Canada’s Victor Project, said. The royalty increase only affects the Victor Project in northern Ontario’s James Bay lowlands for now, because that is the only diamond mine in the province. Construction on the mine began in February 2006, and full production has yet to start. New mines in Ontario could create an average of 2,300 well paying jobs, and contribute C$140 million (U.S.$139 million) to the province’s GDP during the construction phase and twice that during production, according to a recent estimate by Peter Dungan and Steve Murphy of the University of Toronto’s Institute for Policy Analysis. Those are very conservative estimates, but they cannot be realized unless the provincial government adopts policies that actively favor the mining industry, according to Chris Hodgson, president of the Ontario Mining Association.

Date: 2007-12-30 Time: 13.00 PM

» Shore Gold aims to start diamond mine in Saskatchewan by 2011

Source: AFNS Shore Gold will try to get a diamond mine started at Fort a la Corne, Saskatchewan by 2011, George Read, senior vice president of exploration and development, said at the recent annual Saskatchewan Geological Survey open house. The company has Can. $80 million (U.S.$79.5 million) available for development, including Can. $30 million (U.S.$29.8 million) raised recently, and could add another Can. $19 million (U.S.$18.9 million) to that next year. Shore Gold hopes to establish by the end of 2008 that there are 200 million tons of diamond-bearing kimberlite in the Star kimberlite and to get an estimate of average carat value and grade in carats per 100 tons (cpht). If the mine gets the go-ahead in 2009, it could produce 40,000 tonnes of kimberlite a year for 15–17 years. The company wholly owns the Star kimberlite and is prospecting with joint venture partner Newmont Resources at other kimberlites that they hope will be at least equal to the Star kimberlite. At the Orion South kimberlite, for instance, Read hopes for a grades of at least 18 cpht. Recent drilling at Star has yielded lower grades than before because the drill is breaking large stones, he said.

Date: 2007-12-29 Time: 17.10 PM

» Graff produces 26 diamonds from the ‘Lesotho Promise’

Source: AFNS The Lesotho Promise, a 603 carat rough diamond discovered in October 2006 at the Letseng Mine in Lesotho, has yielded 26 D-flawless polished diamonds with a total weight of 223.35 carats at the hands of diamond polishers working for jeweller Laurence Graff. The diamonds were cut in Antwerp. Graff displayed the polished stones himself at the company’s London headquarters. He bought the rough stone, which is the 15th largest rough diamond ever found in the world, through his jewelry company’s diamond manufacturing arm, Safdico, winning a competitive auction with a bid of $12.36 million. He set 35 expert polishers to work on it. They were assisted by computer technology in planning how to deal with the stone, which had many cracks and irregularities. The polished stones are each laser-inscribed on their girdles with the Graff logo and a unique Lesotho Promise series number. The inscriptions are visible only under a 10X loupe and do not affect the stones’ quality. Gem Diamonds controls a 70 percent stake of Letseng, which the balance held by the Lesotho government.

Date: 2007-12-28 Time: 12.25 PM

» Belgian polished exports and imports rise in November

Source: AFNS The Belgian diamond sector recorded a sharp increase in dollar terms in polished exports and imports in November, according to figures published by the Antwerp World Diamond Centre. Polished exports amounted to $1.05 billion last month, a 26.4 percent rise on the same month last year. In volume terms, there was a 5.12 percent increase to 829,071 carats. For the January-November period, exports rose 12.8 percent to $9.85 billion and by 6.9 percent to 8.86 million carats. Meanwhile, polished imports also showed a strong rise in November, rising 26.0 percent on November last year to $873.3 million. In weight terms, exports were up 5.5 percent to 762,207 carats. For the first 11 months of the year, imports climbed 10.8 percent to $9.27 billion, and by 4.9 percent to 9.12 million carats. As for rough exports and imports, they posted declines in November, although were largely positive for the January-November period. November exports fell 16.6 percent to $847.0 million, and by 36.5 percent to 9.01 million carats. For the first 11 months of the year, exports rose 15.2 percent to $10.3 billion and climbed 5.7 percent to 129.7 million carats. Meanwhile, rough imports fell 13.8 percent in November to $781,.9 million, and slumped 21.3 percent to 10.6 million carats. For the January-November period, rough imports increased by 9.8 percent to $9.38 billion, but slipped 1.7 percent to 124.2 million carats.

Date: 2007-12-27 Time: 09.56 AM

» Record $18.5 million price for Fabergé egg at Christie’s auction

Source: AFNS Christie’s auction house said it had sold a Fabergé egg that had belonged to the Rothschild family for $18.5 million in London November 28, twice the previous record price for these jewelry pieces. An unidentified Russian buyer placed the winning bid after 10 minutes, the auction house said. The piece was unknown until recently. Apart from it, only 12 other Fabergé eggs are known to have been made to Russian Imperial standards for private buyers. Fifty were made for the Russian Imperial family, starting in 1885. The Rothschild Fabergé Egg was signed and dated by Karl Fabergé in 1902. It was a gift from Beatrice Ephrussi (1864-1934) (neé de Rothschild) to Germaine Halphen (1884-1975) on the occasion of the latter’s engagement to Beatrice’s younger brother, Baron Edouard de Rothschild (1868-1949). They married in 1905, and the jewelry piece has remained in the Rothschild family until now. Christie’s described the jewelry piece as “exceptionally large with brilliantly chased varicolored gold work and enamelled in … translucent pink. Its face is a clock and it contains an automaton cockerel. Every hour, the diamond-set cockerel pops up from inside the egg, flaps his wings four times and then nods his head three times while opening and shutting his beak and crowing. Each performance lasts approximately 15 seconds, before the clock strikes the hour on a bell. The egg is hallmarked under the enamel by Fabergé’s leading workmaster, Michael Perchin.”

Date: 2007-12-26 Time: 11.50 AM

» Five years in jail for $100 million heist

Source: AFNS Two Italian men have been sentenced to five years jail in Belgium for their part in the robbery of $100 million of diamonds and jewelry from safe deposit boxes in Antwerp in 2003. Pietro Tavano and Ferdinando Finoto were extradited to Belgium from Torino, Italy, to face trial. Tavano and Finoto were the last two members of the Italian gang of thieves to receive sentences for the robbery. The leader of the gang, Leonardo Notarbartolo, was caught a week after the robbery, while another gang member, a 50-year-old computer expert called Elio D'Onorio, was arrested earlier this year and extradited to Belgium last month. Notarbartolo received a 10-year sentence for the robbery.

Date: 2007-12-25 Time: 13.10 PM

» Chinese diamond sales estimated at $900 million

Source: AFNS Imports and exports of diamonds to mainland China plus trading volume on the Shanghai Diamond Exchange are expected to total $900 million in 2007, up 47.5 percent compared with last year’s $610 million, which was a 44 percent increase compared with 2005. The Chinese diamond trade has grown sevenfold since 2001, when the bourse was established, China Daily reports. The figures, which come from the Shanghai-based Diamond Administration of China, do not distinguish between rough and polished stones. They were released at the 2007 China International Diamond Conference in Shanghai at the end of November. The Chinese government reduced the tariff from 15.3 percent to 10 percent since July 2006 to help foster the diamond trade, and taxes should be cut further, Deputy Minister of Commerce Ma Xiuhong said. Tang Dengjie, deputy mayor of Shanghai, called for further steps to help Shanghai become China’s premier international diamond trading center, a position long held by the special status territory of Hong Kong.

Date: 2007-12-24 Time: 09.11 AM

» Aurora Collection of colored diamonds may be sold

Source: AFNS The Aurora Collection of fancy color diamonds may be sold to London’s Natural History Museum if the museum can find someone to fund the purchase, according to Alan Bronstein, part owner of the collection, and museum spokesperson Claudine Fontana. There are 296 stones weighing a total of 267 carats in the collection, with values per stone ranging from $1,000 to $1 million, Bronstein said. However, he declined to place a value on the collection as a whole. The other owner of the collection, which was started in 1980, is the retired gold dealer Harry Rodman. Fancy color diamonds have gone up in value five- to tenfold since 1980, Bronstein said. Back then, the most any fancy color diamond would fetch was $100,000 per carat; today, top stones can be sold for up to $1 million per carat. Japanese buyers drove up the market for colored diamonds in the 1990s; when they lost interest, the market cooled a bit, but it is now back up, Bronstein said. Milestone sales of fancy color stones include the fancy red sold by Christie’s auction house to the Sultan of Brunei for $926,316 per carat in 1987 and this year’s sale of a blue diamond for $1.3 million per carat by Sotheby’s in October, and of a 2.26-carat purplish-red stone for $1.2 million a carat by Christie’s to the Laurence Graff jewelry house in November.

Date: 2007-12-23 Time: 18.50 PM

» Rosy Blue wins De Beers diamond jewelry design competition

Source: AFNS The Belgian-Indian diamond conglomerate Rosy Blue has won a marketing award for the best new piece of diamond jewelry of the year during De Beers’ 2007 diamond jewelry design competition for the Persian Gulf region. Rosy Blue’s winning piece is entitled “Flotz Brillance in Air,” and is said to be inspired by water droplets shimmering on a sunlit lotus leaf and by the need to fight global warming. It is made of 2,501 diamonds set in white gold and is valued at $36,000. The piece is part of Rosy Blue’s “Flotz Collection,” which will soon be available for retail sale through a Gulf region jewelry chain store. Rosy Blue has plants, offices and stores in more than 15 countries, and is one of the largest Diamond Trading Company sightholders. It has jewelry design centers in Antwerp, New York, Hong Kong, Tokyo and Mumbai, and offers diamond jewelry under such brand names as ORRA, ROSIBLU, Canadia and Vera Wang. The company has more than 15,000 employees and recorded $1.7 billion in sales in 2005.

Date: 2007-12-22 Time: 10.00 AM

» Rio Tinto says diamond exploration in India is advanced

Source: AFNS Rio Tinto has reached an advanced stage in diamond exploration in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh, the company’s India Managing Director, N. Senapati, said. Senapati said the company is now evaluating whether the deposits it has found are worth developing, and is awaiting a green light from the Indian Supreme Court. The company is also prospecting in Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Chhattisgarh, Orissa and two other Indian states. Senapati said it would cost $500 million and take eight to 14 years to start commercial production at a new diamond mine in India. The country was the world’s main source of rough diamonds until the eighteenth century, but is now known as the home of the world’s largest diamond polishing center, the city of Surat.

Date: 2007-12-21 Time: 08.45 AM

» Sao Luis Mining starts producing rough diamonds in Brazil

Source: AFNS Sao Luis Mining, Inc. said it has begun limited diamond mining on its 51 percent owned joint venture property number 231 in the Sao Luis River Basin, Mato Grosso state, Brazil. The company received a regulatory green light on October 30 from Brazil’s Department of National Mineral Production. Mining began during the first week of November, using the company’s mobile plants. Seven large gem-quality and near gem-quality diamonds were found. The largest stones weighed 1.89, 1.9, 2.07, 3.63, 4.12, 6.44, and 12.01 carats. Based on the known grade at the property, the company anticipates that diamond production should increase to 1,000 carats a day. “The recovery of larger, more valuable diamonds will enhance the overall value of our ore and should significantly increase our bottom line,” Michael J. Dillon, Sao Luis Mining president and chairman, said. “With the formal receipt of our permits from Brazil's government agencies, we will be able to rapidly accelerate to full production with the arrival and installation of our dense media separation plant.” Sao Luis Mining is a Nevada-based diamond mining and precious metals exploration company. Its strategy is to acquire interests in producing mines and develop properties that may be economically viable. The company has a 51 percent joint venture interest in Comercio e Mineracao Sao Luis Ltda., which operates two diamond properties and an existing processing plant in the Sao Luis River Basin. The joint venture partner is SL Mineradora LTDA. Mato Grosso is the most productive diamond district in Brazil, responsible for 61 percent of all the legally mined diamonds in Brazil in 2005. Brazil was the world’s leading producer of diamonds from their discovery there in the eighteenth century until the South African diamond boom began in the late nineteenth century.

Date: 2007-12-20 Time: 13.11 PM

» Angola highlights contributions to Kimberley Process

Source: AFNS Angola’s UN Representative, Ismael Gaspar Martins, highlighted his country’s contributions to the fight against conflict diamonds through the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme in a report to the UN General Assembly. Martins noted that since the end of the civil war in Angola in 2002, diamond production has risen steadily. In 2002 production was 5 million carats worth $638 million, but by 2006 it was 9.5 million carats worth $1.2 billion. Angola was one of several African countries where rebel groups financed their fight in civil wars by selling smuggled diamonds, Martins said. Currently, Angola serves as chair of the Kimberley Process’ Working Group on Artisanal Production of Alluvial Diamonds, whose report Martins delivered. Internally, Angola has set up a Special Group on Diamond Security, with responsibility for oversight from the mines through shipment to the capital Luanda and other centers of the trade. Agents of the group supervise diamond selection, valuation and packaging for export. The country has also established a Commission for the Revision of Diamond Legislation and a Commission for Diamond Resource Protection.

Date: 2007-12-19 Time: 09.00 AM

» Alrosa could provide stock markets with one their largest IPOs

Source: AFNS Russian diamond mining company may provide 2008 with one of its most valuable IPOs with bankers predicting that the company could be worth as much as $10 billion. Speaking at a Russian-Japanese business forum in Osaka, Alrosa President Sergey Vybornov said that a flotation of the company could happen in the near future. "In the nearest future, I mean within a year or a year and a half, we are planning an IPO.”. Alrosa's profits for 2007 are expected to be about $600 million. Alrosa is 37 percent owned by the Russian government, while the Yakutian government owns a 32 percent stake. The company's workers hold 23 per cent of the shares, while the remaining 8 percent is held by eight regional governments.

Date: 2007-12-18 Time: 16.30 PM

» Security a concern for Surat, India diamond industry

Source: AFNS Diamond trade organizations in Surat, the center of the Indian diamond polishing industry, are expressing public concern about crime, including attacks on couriers and dealers and thefts. The Surat Diamond Manufacturers’ Association and the Southern Gujarat Chamber of Commerce have called on both of the major Indian political parties, the incumbent Congress Party and the opposition Hindu nationalist BJP, to address the problem. The Surat police commissioner has started a database intended to encompass all the workers in the city’s diamond trade, and diamond company owners are being called on to provide information voluntarily, according to Arvind Kapadia, president of the Southern Gujarat Chamber of Commerce. Half a million diamond workers are employed in the city, about 25 percent of whom hail from the other side of the country.

Date: 2007-12-17 Time: 14.15 PM

» AWDC and Diamond Administration of China sign MOU governing future cooperation

Source: AFNS The Antwerp World Diamond Centre (AWDC) and the Diamond Administration of China (DAC) have signed a memorandum of understanding that will govern future cooperation between the two diamond centres. The MOU was signed on November 28 during the 2007 China International Diamond Conference in Shanghai, which was co-organised by the AWDC and DAC. The MOU was signed by Freddy J. Hanard, CEO of the Antwerp World Diamond Centre, and Liu JinPing, Chairman of the Diamond Administration of China and Vice Chairman of the Shanghai Foreign Economic Relations & Trade Commission. The ceremony was held in the presence of Madame Ma Xiuhong, Vice Minister at the Ministry of Commerce of the People’s Republic of China, and Vincent Van Quickenborne, State Secretary of Belgium. The wide ranging agreement will oversee the bilateral exchange of information and data about the market and industry trends, the provision of educational programmes in China and Belgium, jointly organised museum exhibitions, and the development of marketing initiatives to drive the sale of diamonds and diamond jewellery. “The aim of the MOU is to strengthen cooperation and exchange between the two diamond sectors, and to promote the development of the diamond industries in both countries”, explained Hanard in his address to the conference. “The agreement covers a number of areas, but all essentially stem from a shared recognition that in the modern diamond business the interests of all sides are served by a free flow of information, ideas, diamonds, capital and people,” he stated. “Antwerp is recognized as a world industry leader. However it leads not by force or decree, but rather by seeking to create mutually beneficial relationships with its international partners,” Hanard noted.

Date: 2007-12-16 Time: 13.34 AM

» Wimbledon winners presented with diamond balls

Source: AFNS Wimbledon 2007 women’s tennis champion Venus Williams has been presented with a special tennis ball that won’t be bashing around the court–a diamond encrusted tennis ball set with 4,300 diamonds. Nehal Modi, chief executive officer of Jewellery Marketing Company, a unit of Indian jewelry retailer Gitanjali, presented Williams with the ball at an event in New York in honor of her victory earlier this year. A 24K diamond-encrusted tennis ball valued at $90,000 will also be presented to Roger Federer, the winner of this year's Wimbledon men’s title. Gitanjali has a three-year license to promote and market jewelry under the Wimbledon brand. The collection, which includes high-quality bracelets and pendants, will be available at all of Gitanjali's retail outlets.

Date: 2007-12-15 Time: 17.19 PM

» A major sale of Magnificent Jewels

Source: AFNS The sale of Magnificent Jewels achieved an outstanding total of CHF 64,012,750 ($56,964,306) and was highlighted by the sale of the largest, purest white flawless brilliant-cut diamond ever to be offered at auction. The stone was acquired tonight by Mr Georges Marciano, founder of Guess? Jeans, who paid CHF 18,193,000 ($16,189,769) for the stone - the second highest price for a diamond at auction and at $191,980 a carat, the highest price per carat ever paid for a white diamond at auction. Mr Marciano has already exercised his right to name the diamond, which is now known as the ‘Chloe Diamond’ – after his daughter. David Bennett, Chairman of Jewellery for Sotheby’s Europe & the Middle East, said: “The result achieved tonight for the Chloe Diamond is one of the highlights of my career. It has been a privilege to work on the marketing and sale of this magnificent stone, which ranks among the most beautiful diamonds I have ever seen. Tonight’s price of CHF 18.2 ($16.2) million makes it the second most expensive diamond ever sold at auction. Sotheby's continues to hold the world record for a single precious stone and jewel of any kind for The Star of the Season, which was sold in 1995 for $16.5 million." Ron Cohen, CEO of Clean Diamonds Inc., Los Angeles CA, and the seller of the diamond, said: “I am absolutely delighted with the fantastic result achieved tonight by Sotheby’s for this phenomenal, 84.37 carat stone. When I first saw the diamond in its rough form, weighing 365 carats and covering the palm of my hand, I knew immediately that it was of gem quality. Having taken over two years to plan and cut the stone, I decided to consign it with Sotheby’s for the amount of exposure that I was confident the auction house would be able to provide internationally. Tonight’s sale price has vindicated my decision.” Further highlights in the sale included an extremely rare Fancy Vivid Blue pear-shaped diamond, weighing 4.16 carats and mounted as a ring. This magnificent piece of jewellery was sold for CHF 5,313,000 ($4,727,986) against a pre-sale estimate of CHF 3.85-5 million. The success of this stone comes hot on the heels of the Rare Fancy Vivid Blue Diamond Ring sold by Sotheby’s in Hong Kong this October for US$7.9 million which set a per-carat world record for any gemstone at auction of $1,321,495. The per-carat price for tonight’s stone was $1,136,535, making it the second highest price per carat paid for a coloured diamond at auction. The Duchess of Windsor’s exquisite diamond and emerald bracelet, which was her Christmas gift in 1935 from Edward, then Prince of Wales, fared extremely well tonight. The bracelet, which was last offered at Sotheby’s in 1987 at the legendary sale of the Jewels of the Duchess of Windsor and then sold for $352,000, tonight fetched a fantastic CHF 1,141,000 ($1,015,364), more than three times its price in 1987. Another highlight tonight, and also a piece with exceptional provenance, was a ring from the collection of Countess Mona Bismarck. Set with a magnificent step-cut emerald weighing approximately 9.50 carats within a double frame of circular-cut diamonds, the ring was sold for CHF 289,000 ($257,178). In the Mona Bismarck sale at Sotheby’s in May 1986, it was sold for just CHF 143,000. Signed period pieces sold well tonight, with a particularly high price achieved for a Fine Diamond Bracelet by Van Cleef & Arpels, circa 1950, which sold for CHF 661,000 ($588,217), more than three times its low estimate of CHF 180,000. There were bidders competing for the piece, the winning bid coming from an anonymous collector bidding on the telephone. Today’s sale brings the 2007 total for Magnificent Jewels sold at Sotheby’s Switzerland to CHF 124,067,830 ($106,019,622) – the highest total for annual sales of Jewellery in Switzerland since 1995.

Date: 2007-12-14 Time: 10.23 AM

» Draft law reportedly will allow state takeover of Zimbabwe mines

Source: AFNS A law under consideration in the Zimbabwe parliament will reportedly allow the state to acquire a 51 percent stake in local mining companies, while only having to come up with 25 percent of the cash up front. According to the Times Online, Zimbabwe’s President Robert Mugabe is fine tuning a law that will enable to the state to effectively control the country’s mining sector. Under the proposed law, it will only have to pay for 25 percent of the 51 percent of the shares in cash, while the remaining 26 percent will be paid over a seven-year period in the form of dividends. The Times Online noted that resistance to the new legislation will be is futile, because the bill states that companies who display “willful noncompliance” will have its mining license revoked. Among the properties that could be affected by the new law is the Murowa diamond mine, which currently is owned by Rio Tinto.

Date: 2007-12-13 Time: 15.01 PM

» DTC postpones new sightholder announcement

Source: AFNS De Beers’ Diamond Trading Company says it needs another week to complete the new list of designated customers (sightholders) for a three year period. The announcement of the new list will now be made on December 17. The last DTC sale (sight) of 2007 is to be held December 8. There are 93 current international DTC sightholders. The new Namibian and Botswanan versions of DTC, which were established as 50-50 joint ventures between De Beers and the two nations’ governments, have already announced their (domestic) sightholders.

Date: 2007-12-12 Time: 09.56 AM

» DiamondCorp Lace diamond mine accelerating to full output

Source: AFNS DiamondCorp said plans for its underground operations at Lace Diamond Mine in the Free State of South Africa to reach full output of 400,000 carats within two years are on track, and the company also sees itself as becoming a producing partner for exploration firms. DiamondCorp managing director Paul Loudon told the Mineweb website that the mine would be a self-financing project since output from surface tailings would generate R100 million of early cashflow for the company. He added DiamondCorp was not an exploration company, but a diamond producer that could join with other junior firms. Loudon said diamondiferous tailings from an earlier mine were still being mined out more than two years after a processing plant had been commissioned last month. As for the mine itself, a capital expenditure of just R100m was needed, and the firm was benefiting from underground development carried out by its predecessors. Loudon said DiamondCorp would soon process a bulk sample of 60,000-80,000 tons to get a good understanding of the quality of the underground grade. The tailings are providing the firm with a good idea about the main underground kimberlite pipe and have speeded up underground mining plans. Although the diamonds recovered from the tailings were small, 5 percent were fancy color stones, including valuable intense pink and purple diamonds. When mining operations begin underground the company has a chance of finding larger stones, with indications at present showing tailings contained 27 carats per 100 tons. The previous miners had recovered 17 carats per 100 tonS while DiamondCorp is recovering 10 carats per 100 tons. This indicated that 40-60 carats per 100 tons could be mined underground. DiamondCorp expects to recover about 370,000 carats from the tailings, and forecasts a 20-year life for the underground mine.

Date: 2007-12-11 Time: 12.25 PM

» Namibia Diamond Trading Company appoints local official as CEO

Source: AFNS The Government of the Republic of Namibia and De Beers, the Shareholders of Namibia Diamond Trading Company (NDTC) have announced the appointment of Shihaleni Ellis Ndjaba as CEO of the Namibia Diamond Trading Company (NDTC) with effect from January 1, 2008. Ndjaba, currently serves as permanent secretary in the Ministry of Works, Transport and Communication (MWTC) and chairman of the board of NDTC. He will rescind both positions to serve as NDTC CEO. Varda Shine, managing director of DTC International will replace Ndjaba as chairman of the board of NDTC said in a statement today “This appointment marks another milestone in meeting our objective of providing maximum long-term value from diamonds to Namibia by developing world class sorting, valuing, selling and marketing practices in the country. The CEO will play a crucial role in supporting the establishment of a sustainable and efficient diamond industry to benefit the whole of Namibia,” she said. In his role as the permanent secretary, Ndjaba was responsible for coordinating all policy issues in the ministry, namely budgeting, securing of international financing, and the development of infrastructure and will bring these skills to bear in his new position at NDTC. Prior to that, he was the deputy permanent secretary in the Ministry of Finance, where his responsibilities included the management of macroeconomic issues such as the fiscal policy in conjunction with the Bank of Namibia, and the regulation of financial institution in conjunction with NAMFISA. Ndjaba has also served as acting CEO of the Agricultural Bank of Namibia (Agribank) and director at the Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources. Ndjaba holds a number of qualifications which include a MSc Degree in Financial Economics from the University of London, an MBA from Brunel University in the United Kingdom, and an MSc in General Maritime Administration from the World Maritime University in Sweden.

Date: 2007-12-10 Time: 09.56 AM

» De Beers sells Cullinan Mine to Petra for $147 million

Source: AFNS De Beers Consolidated Mines, the South African arm of the De Beers Group, announced November 22 that it has agreed to sell the Cullinan Diamond Mine as a going concern to the Petra Diamonds Cullinan Consortium (PDCC) for R1 billion ($146.7 million) in cash. PDCC includes Petra Diamonds Limited, the second largest producer of diamonds in South Africa after De Beers; Al Rajhi Holdings WLL, a Saudi Arabia-based investment company; and a South African black economic empowerment (BEE) partner, Thembinkosi Mining Investments (Pty) Ltd. Stakeholders in Thembinkosi include Sedibeng Mining (Pty) Ltd, Namoise Mining (Pty) Ltd, Umnotho weSizwe Group (Pty) Ltd, and a group representing the interests of Petra employees. PDCC was the winning bidder in what De Beers said was “an open and rigorous selection process that evaluated prospective bidders on a number of criteria … critical to ensuring the long-term sustainability of Cullinan Diamond Mine.” These criteria included access to adequate funding, technical capacity, BEE credentials and sociopolitical focus. Petra previously bought two other South African mines from De Beers: the Dancarl Mine in the Barkley West District and the Koffiefontein Mine. In September, Petra agreed to buy De Beers’ Kimberley underground mines, in a transaction that both sides hope to finalize by early 2008. De Beers said selling Cullinan reflects the company’s “realignment of its mining portfolio and a global business model that no longer focuses on maximizing market share of production,” which has involved selling off two other unprofitable South African operations, Namaqualand Mines and the Kimberley mining operations. At the same time, the South African arm of the company is starting new projects like SASA, a marine mining operation off the west coast of South Africa that just recently became operational, and the Voorspoed mine. These new mines are expected to be fully operational in 2008 and 2009. “This will enable De Beers to best use our capital to invest in exciting growth opportunities and to sustain a strong diamond mining business in South Africa for the future,” Gareth Penny, managing director of the De Beers Group, said. “In this way De Beers is strengthening its commercial future in South Africa whilst helping to meet [the] government’s aspirations for a diversified, transformed South African diamond industry.”

Date: 2007-12-09 Time: 12.25 PM

» Rio Tinto CEO says company ‘not interested’ in takeover bid

Source: AFNS Tom Albanese, the new CEO at Rio Tinto, has said that the company is “not interested” in the takeover bid launched by rival BHP Billiton. Speaking during a teleconference, he said that “While BHP may need Rio Tinto, Rio Tinto doesn't necessarily need BHP." "We believe that the value in Rio Tinto is yet to be fully reflected by the market. We have the people, execution capability and resources to work smarter, faster and better than our competitors," Albanese stated. Albanese added that Rio was also not planning what is known in the mergers and acquisitions community as the Pac-Man defense, which in this case would involve Rio Tinto turning the tables and launching its own bid for BHP Billiton. "The first time I heard about Pac-Man was reading about it in the newspaper and it is not something I have given serious consideration," Albanese said. He said that he also has not spoken to other interests who may consider purchasing Rio Tinto. “There's no shortage of people that would want to give us a call, but we have not been engaging," Albanese said.

Date: 2007-12-08 Time: 09.56 AM

» HRD Antwerp opens branch in Shanghai, China

Source: AFNS HRD Antwerp NV, the commercial arm of the Antwerp World Diamond Centre, is expanding its operations with the opening of a representative office in Shanghai, China. “As our diamond certificates and gemmological grading and educational services have a strong reputation on the Chinese market, we felt it was imperative to provide custom-tailored services to one of the world’s fastest growing consumer markets,” General Manager Georges Brys said. HRD Antwerp appointed Ms. Jun Jiang as its local representative for its Shanghai office. Ms. Jun will be responsible for promoting the HRD Antwerp brand and will represent its commercial interests in China in the fields of diamond certification, education and equipment. HRD Antwerp’s expansion beyond the Belgian diamond centre follows the recent launch of HRD Lab Link, a pick-up diamond certification service in Ramat Gan, Israel, and the upcoming launch of an HRD Lab Link service in Hong Kong. Ms. Jun, HRD Antwerp's representative for Greater China, is well positioned to fulfill her new role. A Chinese national, Ms. Jun arrived in Belgium after earning a degree in Social Economy at Ocean University of China in Qingdao, a coastal city in North East China. In 1988, she enrolled in the Language School of Leuven University where she studied English and Dutch. Remaining in Belgium, Ms. Jun then worked in a number of positions, serving as a translator for various Belgian governmental institutions and later as a business consultant and liaison for Belgian firms to Chinese companies. "I am very excited with this unique opportunity to represent Antwerp's diamond industry and trade in one of China's most active diamond and jewelry industry hubs. If there is one place where opportunities for diamond sales seem endless, it certainly is China. I pledge that Antwerp's diamonds will be well spoken for," Jun Jiang said. HRD Antwerp NV is the recently created commercial subsidiary of the Antwerp World Diamond Centre (AWDC), the private foundation formerly known as the Hoge Raad voor Diamant (HRD). HRD Antwerp operates six services : HRD Diamond Lab, the first ISO-certified diamond lab, which issues one of the world’s most respected diamond certificates; HRD Precious Stones Lab; HRD Education; HRD Graduates Club; HRD Equipment and HRD Research. The HRD Antwerp Diamond Lab is NBN EN ISO/IEC 17025- certified.

Date: 2007-12-07 Time: 16.30 PM

» Sierra Leone considering laws to enforce beneficiation

Source: AFNS Taking a leaf from its southern African counterparts, Sierra Leone is now considering the introduction of new laws that require most of the diamond mined on its territory to be cut and polished before they are exported, reports Reuters. According to the news agency, President Ernest Bai Koroma, who won an election in September, has said the new policy would be put before parliament "as soon as possible.” “We have not benefited as much as we should have from our mineral resources and that is why we are going to ... put in place a mining policy that will ensure that we move away from having low returns,” Koroma said. Koroma would not say whether the laws under consideration would involve the banning of rough diamond exports or the imposition of quotas. But he did say that they would help alleviate the country’s dire economic condition. "It will not only add value but it will enhance employment opportunities," he said. Currently three-quarters of Sierra Leoneans live below the poverty line.

Date: 2007-12-06 Time: 08.45 AM

» Diamond dessert can’t save restaurant from health inspectors

Source: AFNS A New York City restaurant called Serendipity 3 offers diners a diamond and gold topped chocolate dessert, but it’s unavailable temporarily because the local health department has closed the place down. The “Frrrozen Haute Chocolate” is decorated with 1 carat of diamonds, while the dish itself includes edible gold, high-quality cocoa, truffle shavings, milk and whipped cream. Diners can take home the gold spoon that the $25,000 treat is served with. The Guinness Book of World Records declared it the world’s costliest dessert. But the establishment was shuttered after the second health-code violation in a month, after an inspector discovered a live mouse, mouse droppings, fruit flies, house flies and more than 100 live cockroaches.

Date: 2007-12-05 Time: 13.11 PM

» Red diamond tops Christie’s Magnificent Jewels sale

Source: AFNS The top lot of Christie’s November 15 “Magnificent Jewels” auction in Geneva was a very rare 2.26 carat fancy purplish-red diamond ring, which sold for a record price of almost 3 million Swiss francs ($2.67 million) to the Laurence Graff jewelry house. This was equivalent to $1.18 million per carat. The sale overall netted 53.9 million Swiss francs ($48.6 million). The semi-annual auction netted 30.2 million Swiss francs ($27.2 million) in May, for a 2007 total of 84.1 million Swiss francs ($75.8 million), an increase of 78.5 percent compared with last year. If the February St. Moritz sale total of 20.8 million Swiss francs ($18.7 million) is added in, the total value of jewelry Christie’s has auctioned off in Switzerland this year is 104.9 million Swiss francs ($94.5 million). Other pieces sold at the auction included an emerald and diamond necklace from the collection of Princess Katharina Henckel von Donnersmarck, which sold for 2.1 million Swiss francs ($1.9 million); diamond earrings and a brooch designed by Van Cleef & Arpels for Princess Cecil Amelia von Fürstenberg (1.2 million Swiss francs/$1.1 million and 922,600 Swiss francs/$831,000, respectively). Sixteen pieces of jewelry associated with Russia sold for a total of SFr.1.2 million ($1.1 million), including amethyst and diamond ear pendants once owned by the eighteenth-century Russian Queen Catherine the Great.

Date: 2007-12-04 Time: 17.19 PM

» Bulgari profits, revenues up in third quarter

Source: AFNS Italian luxury products company Bulgari Group reported revenues of ?258 million ($377.9 million) in the third quarter of 2007, an increase of 13 percent at comparable exchange rates or 8 percent at current exchange rates from the corresponding period of last year. In the first nine months of the year, revenues were €746 million ($1.093 billion), a 14 percent increase at comparable exchange rates and a 9 percent rise at current exchange rates. Third quarter net profit was €41 million ($60 million), up 20 percent at comparable exchange rates, and in the first nine months of the year it was ?99 million ($145 million), up 26 percent at comparable exchange rates. For the full year 2007, profits and revenues are expected to increase 12 percent at comparable exchange rates, CEO Francesco Trapani said. In the third quarter, jewelry sales were up 19 percent at comparable exchange rates compared with the third quarter of 2006; the growth was 20 percent in the first nine months of the year. Watches posted a 4 percent increase in the third quarter and an 8 percent increase in the first nine months of the year. The slower growth was caused by shortages of some technical components, which resulted in lower production, the company said. Bulgari’s European sales were up 9 percent in the third quarter and up 10 percent in the first nine months of the year; sales in the Americas were up 20 percent in the third quarter and up 24 percent in the first nine months of the year; and sales in Japan, which had been down for several quarters in a row, turned around and rose 9 percent in the third quarter, though they were down 3 percent in the first nine months of 2007. Sales in Asia except Japan were up 39 percent increase in the third quarter and rose 49 percent in the first nine months of the year. Total operating costs in the third quarter were 120 million Euro, up 7 percent; personnel costs increased 14 percent, which was expected and was due to new hiring in anticipation of the opening of three flagship stores in October and November 2007 in Rome and Tokyo. As of September 30, the Bulgari Group had 236 stores, of which 140 were directly owned by the company.

Date: 2007-12-03 Time: 10.23 AM

» Mwana Africa completing acquisition of SouthernEra

Source: AFNS Mwana Africa and SouthernEra Diamonds said they have reached an agreement under which the former company will acquire the latter in an all-stock transaction. Mwana will acquire all Class A common shares of SouthernEra that it or its affiliates do not already own on the basis of one share of Mwana common stock for every 2.28 SouthernEra shares. Under a previous Mwana takeover bid that expired on September 17, the company and its affiliates acquired approximately 132 million SouthernEra shares, 84 percent of the total. SouthernEra shareholders will vote on the deal at the company’s annual meeting on December 17. The company has alluvial and kimberlite diamond prospecting projects in the Democratic Republic of Congo (former Zaire), an 18 percent free-carried interest in the Camafuca diamond mine in Angola, and 57 percent of the Klipspringer diamond mine in South Africa. Mwana has exploration and production assets for a variety of commodities in the Congo, Ghana and Zimbabwe.

Date: 2007-12-02 Time: 15.01 PM

» JA backs sales tax for online jewelry retailers

Source: AFNS The U.S. Congress should pass a law allowing states to levy sales tax on Internet and catalog retailers just as they do on traditional bricks-and-mortar businesses, according to a letter signed by the Jewelers of America (JA) and 100 other trade and government associations, large retailers and unions. The pending legislation is called the Sales Tax Fairness and Simplification Act, and would allow U.S. states to mandate that sellers located in a different physical location from buyers collect sales tax. The law is designed to work with the Streamlined Sales and Use Tax Agreement, a voluntary harmonization agreement that not all states have signed onto. Since 2002, JA has supported allowing taxation of online jewelry sellers in order to level the playing field with traditional retail jewelers, said JA President and CEO Matthew A. Runci.

Date: 2007-12-01 Time: 07.30 AM

» HRD diamond grading course offered in India

Source: AFNS HRD Education is running its first Certified Diamond Grader Course in Mumbai (Bombay), India, December 3 to 15. The two-week course seeks to offer a balance between practice and theory. Students will learn how to grade a diamond’s 4Cs with a microscope and a 10-power loupe. The course also teaches attendees about the most common diamond simulants and how to detect them, as well as diamond optics, synthetic diamonds, clarity and color treatments. Graduates of the course will be awarded an HRD Certified Diamond Grader Diploma.

Date: 2007-11-30 Time: 10.00 AM

» Richemont reports strong growth in sales, profits

Source: AFNS Luxury goods company Richemont Group, whose subsidiaries include jewelry houses Van Cleef & Arpels and Cartier, reported that sales increased 11 percent to €2.55 billion ($3.74 billion) in the second and third quarters of 2007 (the first half of its 2008 fiscal year). At constant exchange rates, sales growth was 16 percent, including particularly strong growth in the Asia-Pacific region. Operating profit from Richemont’s luxury goods businesses increased 28 percent to €560 million ($821 million) due to increased sales, an improvement in gross margin and operating leverage. Net profit increased 28 percent to €824 million ($1.208 billion). The company’s jewelry division reported 9 percent sales growth. Cartier continued to develop its business in both established markets and new markets such as China and Russia. Sales performance at Van Cleef & Arpels was very strong, but started from a much lower level than Cartier. Richemont’s watchmaking subsidiaries saw their sales grow 18 percent, with “excellent performances” reported by IWC and Jaeger-LeCoultre. Component shortages held watch sales down, however, and the company warned that these may continue into the fourth quarter of 2007 and the first quarter of 2008. After releasing the financial results, Richemont said it is considering restructuring its business to split its luxury goods operations from its other interests, including its interest in British American Tobacco plc.

Date: 2007-11-29 Time: 09.15 AM

» De Beers’ Finsch diamond mine claims 11 years without deaths

Source: AFNS De Beers’ Finsch Mine in South Africa recorded 6 million shifts (11 years) free of any fatalities on November 14, which the company said was a first in the South African mining industry. Finsch recorded its first million shifts free of deaths in 2000. Since then, the mine’s “lost time injury frequency rate” has decreased from 0.61 to 0.19 in 2007. The mine was recertified this year by the Occupational Hygiene and Safety Association of South Africa. Finsch is an underground diamond mine located in South Africa’s Northern Cape Province, one of a handful De Beers has left open due to its profitability in the company’s country of origin.

Date: 2007-11-28 Time: 07.32 AM

» HRD Antwerp and www.21gem.com to hold Certified Diamonds Auction

Source: AFNS HRD Antwerp NV, the commercial subsidiary of the Antwerp World Diamond Centre is supporting an initiative launched by Shanghai Gem King Technology Co. Ltd. which operates the popular 21GEM.com website. A special “HRD Antwerp Certified Diamond Auction” will be held on December 2nd , just days after the conclusion of the Shanghai Diamond Conference. HRD Antwerp General Manager Georges Brys said that the cooperation with one of China's most popular diamond jewellery website operators was motivated by giving the HRD Antwerp diamond certificate more exposure among Chinese consumers. "In Antwerp, we look upon the Chinese consumer market as the principal growth market of this century," he said. "To achieve better recognition of our diamonds grading report, the 21gem website has agreed that on the auction day itself only HRD Antwerp certified diamonds will be on sale. We believe that through this promotion and sales vehicle, the reputation and credibility of HRD Antwerp certification will receive a significant boost." "While we look forward to promote the HRD Antwerp brand and culture, to increase the reputation of HRD Antwerp certificates, and to help the companies to sell HRD Antwerp certified diamonds, we also intend to boost the general need for diamond certification, in the interest of consumer confidence in diamond jewellery products at large. This is a goal that is shared by our hosts," Brys stated. Brys noted that Chinese consumers have taken very positively to buying diamonds and diamonds jewellery. This, of course, has required sellers to look carefully at the diamond certification, and I am glad to report that our certificates are well received. Of course, Chinese authorities and laboratories have contributed significantly to creating awareness to the need for diamond grading reports."

Date: 2007-11-27 Time: 07.30 AM

» Arkansas state park yields another large rough diamond

Source: AFNS The Crater of Diamonds State Park in Murfreesboro, Arkansas has yielded a 4.38 carat “tea colored” diamond to a man who has made his living on selling diamonds from the state park since he moved to the state in February. Chad Johnson, 36, dug up the stone on November 3, but did not realize what he had found and nearly threw it away two days later when he was cleaning out the equipment he had stored in his locker. More than 700 diamonds have been found at the state park so far in 2007. Tourists are allowed to keep what they find. Since the park opened in 1972, the biggest stone to turn up was the 16.37 carat Amarillo Starlight, which was unearthed in 1975.

Date: 2007-11-26 Time: 12.25 PM

» Russian government raises Alrosa holding

Source: AFNS The Russian government is to raise its stake in diamond miner Alrosa as it seeks to strengthen ownership of the company ahead of a possible initial public share offering, the firm said on Monday. Alrosa, which produces around 24 percent of global diamond output, said it will issue 72,726 new shares, with the government increase its share in the firm to 43 percent from 37 percent. Russian media reports said Alrosa shareholders have approved the buy-back of a 10.6 percent stake held by state-controlled bank VTB and cited sources as saying the share would be handed over to the government, thus increasing its holding to more than 50 percent. Other Alrosa shareholders include the government of Yakutia, an autonomous Russian region where Alrosa has substantial diamond deposits, which owns 32 percent of the company. Alrosa plans to launch an initial public offering within one year.

Date: 2007-11-25 Time: 09.56 AM

» U.S. polished imports down sharply in value terms

Source: AFNS U.S. imports of polished diamonds were static in value terms but declined sharply in volume terms in September, while in the first nine months of 2007 they rose in value terms but declined significantly in volume terms. In September, the United States imported 1,428,133 carats of polished stones worth $1.393 billion, an increase of 0.85 percent in value terms and a decrease of 13.3 percent in volume terms, while for the first three quarters of the year the import total was 11,532,490 carats worth $13.18 billion, a 6.5 percent increase in value and a 13.3 percent decline in volume. Average value per carat was $975.07 in September and $1,142.82 in the first nine months of the year, representing increases of 16.4 percent and 22.9 percent over the corresponding periods of 2006. But the September average value figure is much higher once goods returned to India, Belgium and Israel are subtracted: $3,475.02 per carat. U.S. net polished imports for the month, subtracting these returned goods, totaled 262,344 carats worth $911.7 million. The leading suppliers of polished goods to the U.S. market in September were Israel at $628.1 million, 45.1 percent of the total by value; India at $365.5 million, 26.2 percent of the total by value, but, at 912,540 carats, 63.9 percent of the total by volume; and Belgium at $228.3 million, 16.4 percent of total value. The United States imported 73,274 carats of rough diamonds worth $40.8 million in September, a 36.6 percent decline in volume and a 54.1 percent decline in value. Average value per carat of these goods therefore slid 27.7 percent, to $556.22 per carat. In the first nine months of the year the country imported 927,140 carats of rough stones worth $573.1 million, a fall of 2.5 percent in volume and a 2.2 percent decline in value, for an almost unchanged average value of $618.15 per carat. The top source of rough diamonds for the United States in September was South Africa, which supplied 12,784 carats worth $16.2 million, an average of $1,264.88 per carat. Brazil was the leading source by volume at 26,526 carats, 36.2 percent of the total, but the value of these stones was less than $2 million, for an average value per carat of just $73.32. Other important sources of rough were the Democratic Republic of Congo (former Zaire), which sent 4,648 carats of rough worth $6.66 million, an average of $1,432.56 per carat, and Botswana, which shipped 17,243 carats of rough stones worth $5.55 million, for an average of $322.10 per carat.

Date: 2007-11-24 Time: 12.25 PM

» Rio Tinto rejects BHP Billiton buyout offer

Source: AFNS Rio Tinto said it has rejected a proposal from fellow mining giant BHP Billiton, under which the latter would acquire the former, with each Rio Tinto share being exchanged for three BHP Billiton shares. “The boards of Rio Tinto have given the proposal careful consideration and concluded that it significantly undervalues Rio Tinto and its prospects. Accordingly, the boards have unanimously rejected the proposal as not being in the best interests of shareholders,” Rio Tinto said. BHP Billiton said it has written back to Rio Tinto seeking an opportunity to meet and discuss its proposal with the company. Both companies have significant diamond holdings. Rio Tinto has a 60 percent stake in the Diavik Mine in Canada’s Northwest Territories, 100 percent of the Argyle Mine in Western Australia and 77.8 percent of the Murowa Mine in Zimbabwe. BHP Billiton owns 80 percent of the Ekati Mine in the Northwest Territories and 80 percent of the Koala underground mine in Canada, where diamond production is expected to begin by the end of this year. The company is also prospecting for diamonds in Angola and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Date: 2007-11-23 Time: 09.56 AM

» U.S. chain store sales increase 1.6 percent in October

Source: AFNS U.S. chain store sales grew 1.6 percent in October compared to the same month last year, the slowest rates of growth since 1995, according to the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC). The figures include all types of chain stores, and the growth rate was about the same as in September, when there was a 1.7 percent increase. “Over the last two months, retailers have struggled with the warm weather's negative impact on retail spending,” Michael P. Niemira, ICSC's chief economist and director of research. “However, for the November-December period, we are expecting a marked improvement from the very sluggish September-October performance.” He added that he expects November comparable store sales to increase about 2.5 percent.

Date: 2007-11-22 Time: 16.30 PM

» Blue Nile sales and profits up in third quarter

Source: AFNS Online fine jewelry retailer Blue Nile reported net income of almost $3 million on net sales of $67.4 million in the third quarter of 2007, compared with net income of $1.8 million on net sales of $53.2 million in the third quarter of 2006. This was a 63 percent increase in net income and a 26.5 percent increase in net sales. The company attributed the increase in net sales in the third quarter primarily to growth in sales in virtually all product categories and in the firm’s international business. Sales through the company’s UK and Canadian websites totaled $4.5 million for the third quarter, more than double the $2.2 million it made in the corresponding period of last year. For the first nine months of 2007, net income was $9.9 million on net sales totaling $207.4 million, compared with net income of $7.3 million on net sales of $160.9 million in the corresponding period of 2006—a 35.6 increase in net income and a 28.9 percent increase in net sales. Gross profit as a percentage of net sales was 19.8 percent in the third quarter and 20 percent for the year to date, compared to 19.5 percent in the third quarter of 2006 and 19.9 percent for the first nine months of 2006. The slight increases were due to changes in the product mix and a focus on costs, the company said.

Date: 2007-11-21 Time: 09.15 AM

» U.S. conference issues declaration on jewelry and mining ethics

Source: AFNS A conference held at the World Bank in Washington, D.C. October 25-26 has drafted a statement on ethical principles for jewelry and small-scale mining. The Madison Dialogue Ethical Jewelry Summit included representatives of artisanal and small-scale mines and mining communities from eight African and South American countries, governments, donors, certifying organizations, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), and retail and other companies. The declaration calls for “developing and implementing robust standards for the production of ethical and fair trade metals, diamonds, gems and jewelry,” and for governments “to develop policies and regulations that protect these miners, workers and their communities.” The attendees agreed to form working groups on the development of principles, standards and a third-party assurance system for jewelry products that may be labeled as ethical or fair trade. More information is available at www.madisondialogue.org.

Date: 2007-11-20 Time: 07.39 AM

» Venezuela agrees to Kimberley Process delegation

Source: AFNS The Russian government is to raise its stake in diamond miner Alrosa as it seeks to strengthen ownership of the company ahead of a possible initial public share offering, the firm said on Monday. Alrosa, which produces around 24 percent of global diamond output, said it will issue 72,726 new shares, with the government increase its share in the firm to 43 percent from 37 percent. Russian media reports said Alrosa shareholders have approved the buy-back of a 10.6 percent stake held by state-controlled bank VTB and cited sources as saying the share would be handed over to the government, thus increasing its holding to more than 50 percent. Other Alrosa shareholders include the government of Yakutia, an autonomous Russian region where Alrosa has substantial diamond deposits, which owns 32 percent of the company. Alrosa plans to launch an initial public offering within one year.

Date: 2007-11-19 Time: 07.32 AM

» New labor deal signed at Ekati Mine in Northwest Territories

Source: AFNS The Ekati Mine in Canada’s Northwest Territories has a new four-year labor contract, the union representing the workers announced. Negotiators for the Public Service Alliance of Canada North signed the deal with the mine, in which BHP Billiton holds an 80 percent stake, on November 7. Workers’ benefits include annual salary increases above the rate of inflation, incentive pay, and improvements in seniority terms, layoff protection and short-term disability plans. The union has recommended that its members approve the contract, which will be retroactive to September 1. The new contract will replace a one-year contract that was signed last year after a three-month strike. Ekati was the first diamond mine in Canada, and is the country’s only unionized diamond mine. It produces approximately 6 percent of the world’s rough diamonds by value, some 3 million to 5 million carats a year. The mine is situated 300 km northeast of the territorial capital Yellowknife and 200 km south of the Arctic Circle.

Date: 2007-11-18 Time: 09.56 AM

» Remarkable 493 carat LetŠeng Legacy Diamond sold for US $10.4 million

Source: AFNS Gem Diamonds Limited and the Government of the Kingdom of Lesotho announced the sale of the Letšeng Legacy, a remarkable 493 carat diamond, in Antwerp for US$10.4 million. The world’s leading diamantaires participated in the tender and the winning bid was made by SAFDICO, the manufacturing arm of Graff Jewellers. Graff Jewellers are one of the world’s leading diamond jewellery purveyors and were the winning bidder for the Lesotho Promise diamond in 2006. The Letšeng Legacy ranks as the 18th largest diamond ever found and was named to reflect the growing legacy that the Letšeng le Terai Mine is creating as a producer of significant diamonds. Letšeng Diamonds, which is 70% owned by Gem Diamonds and 30% owned by the Government of the Kingdom of Lesotho, has now produced three of the world’s top 20 diamonds. Two of these were recovered in the last 13 months - the 603 carat Lesotho Promise in August 2006 and this 493 carat diamond in September 2007. Following the opening of the tender offers, the winning bid of US$10.4 million was announced by Lesotho’s Minister of Forestry and Land Reclamation Ralechate Mokose at the Antwerp World Diamond Centre at an event attended by the Lesotho Ambassadors to Belgium and Germany, Mr. Ludo Van Campenhout, Alderman for Diamonds of the city of Antwerp, the management and board of directors of AWDC and Gem Diamonds, and the winning bidder SAFDICO. Freddy J. Hanard, CEO of AWDC, said: “The fact that Antwerp was chosen once again and that this beautiful diamond was tendered here indicates that there is only one place in the world where this can happen successfully: the diamond centre of the world: Antwerp.” Clifford Elphick, CEO of Gem Diamonds, added: “The sale of the Letšeng Legacy at this impressive price is a reflection of the rarity of the remarkable diamonds that the Letšeng Mine is producing. The market for extraordinary diamonds continues to grow which bodes well for Letšeng´s success as production doubles during the course of 2008. We look forward to sharing this success with our partners the Government of Lesotho.” Johnny Kneller, the CEO of the northern hemisphere of SAFDICO commented: “We are very pleased to have once again made the winning bid for such an historic diamond. To have acquired the Letšeng Legacy as well as the Lesotho Promise is a great achievement for SAFDICO and Mr. Graff. This stone, as the previous one, will off course be manufactured in Antwerp.”

Date: 2007-11-17 Time: 16.30 PM

» Ancient diamonds found in Australia

Source: AFNS The oldest diamonds ever found have been discovered in Western Australia, with scientists determining that they are some 4 billion years old. That makes the crystals just 300 million years younger than the earth itself, and a full 1 billion years older than the oldest previous record for diamonds. The crystals are as thin as a human hair. Scientists are studying them to see what they can reveal about the Earth’s geological history.

Date: 2007-11-16 Time: 09.15 AM

» Harry Winston Diamond Corp to debut on NYSE

Source: AFNS Aber Diamond Corporation will begin listing its shares on the New York Stock Exchange November 19 under the new name Harry Winston Diamond Corporation. The company will continue trading on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the new name, but will de-list from the NASDAQ. Aber, the 40-percent owner of the Diavik Diamond Mine in Canada’s Northwest Territories, bought the fine jewelry company Harry Winston and then adopted the identity of its subsidiary. “Rebranding our enterprise to Harry Winston Diamond Corporation and listing on the New York Stock Exchange are important steps in positioning our unique company,” Chairman and CEO Robert Gannicott said. “As the only diamond company in the world that pairs rough diamond expertise with more than 100 years of fine jewelry experience in luxury retail, it is appropriate that our unparalleled brand is associated with this prestigious U.S. exchange.”

Date: 2007-11-15 Time: 07.32 AM

» DTC raises $520 million-$530 million at November sight

Source: AFNS De Beers’ Diamond Trading Company held its ninth sight of 2007 at the end of October and the start of November, bringing in $520 million-$530 million. This was smaller than other sights, which is normal for the season, since dealers do their buying for the Christmas holidays in August and September. The timing also coincided with Belgian and Indian holidays. Prices were mostly stable, with 1 percent to 2 percent increases reported on some of the more lucrative boxes. The DTC will announce its new list of sightholders for the next three years on November 19, and the next sight will be held in the first week of December.

Date: 2007-11-14 Time: 07.30 AM

» African Diamonds gets prospecting licenses in Botswana

Source: AFNS The diamond exploration company African Diamonds plc has obtained three new diamond prospecting licenses near the Orapa Province of Botswana through its wholly owned subsidiary, Kukama Mining and Exploration Pty. Ltd. The new licenses come on top of another two that the company received earlier this year. Initial prospecting is slated to begin in the next few months. African Diamonds recently submitted an application for a diamond mining lease for the AK6 diamond mine in Orapa Province, where it owns a 28.8 percent stake, De Beers has a 66.22 percent stake and privately held Wati Ventures has a 5.4 percent stake. Production is scheduled to start in late 2009, and is expected to be approximately 600,000 carats a year for the first three years, after which it will increase to 1 million carats annually.

Date: 2007-11-13 Time: 12.25 PM

» Call to build a Turkish diamond bourse

Source: AFNS Osman Sarac, the deputy president of the Istanbul Gold Exchange (IAB), has issued a call for Turkey to build its own diamond bourse. More than $1 billion worth of diamonds and precious stones were traded in Turkey in 2006, Sarac said, and domestic demand is rising for finer quality jewelry rather than the 22K gold traditionally popular in the country. Turkey recently joined the Kimberley Process.

Date: 2007-11-12 Time: 09.56 AM

» Japan sees polished diamond imports fall amid spiraling prices

Source: AFNS Japanese polished diamond imports continue to decline, with rising average prices per carat. In September, the country imported 177,233 carats of polished stones worth $69.9 million, a 26 percent fall in weight terms but a fall of only 11.5 percent in value terms. This brought average value per carat up 19.6 percent to $394.38. The country imported 1,679,613 carats of polished worth $664.76 million in the first three quarters of the year, down 17.5 percent in weight terms and 15 percent in value terms, bringing average value up to $395.78 per carat. The three leading suppliers of Japanese polished diamond imports in September were India, which exported 126,897 carats of polished diamonds worth $25.07 million, an average of $198 per carat; Belgium, which sold 15,120 carats worth $16.15 million, an average of $1,068 per carat; and Israel, with exports of 6,232 carats worth $7.11 million, an average of $1,141 per carat.

Date: 2007-11-11 Time: 13.10 PM

» U.N. hosts meeting of CIBJO

Source: AFNS The U.N. headquarters in Geneva hosted a meeting of 50 members of CIBJO, The World Jewellery Confederation, on October 30 to discuss corporate responsibility and the role of the jewelry industry in promoting sustainable economic and social development. The Geneva meeting was part of an ongoing liaison program between CIBJO and the U.N. following CIBJO’s acceptance in 2006 as a nongovernmental organization (NGO) with consultative status to the UN’s Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). The host of the meeting was Dr. Hanifa Mezoui, chief of the NGO Section at ECOSOC. Mezoui said that CIBJO and the international jewelry industry have come to serve as an example to other business sectors, since the organization brings private sector interests under its NGO umbrella to pursue the U.N.’s eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). “CIBJO's emphasis on good practice for its retailers has detailed social and environmental responsibility initiatives,” she said. “The preservation of basic human rights, condemning discrimination and forced labour and promoting fair worker remuneration and safe working environments go hand in hand with the spirit of the MDGs.” CIBJO President Dr. Gaetano Cavalieri said, “As we have proven time and time again, our industry has a very strong social conscience, and when we are properly informed we are ready to act and contribute.” CIBJO has started a new website, www.sustainablejewellery.org, to promote the social goals discussed in Geneva.

Date: 2007-11-10 Time: 09.15 AM

» First Namibian DTC sight sells $15 million of rough diamonds

Source: AFNS The Namibia Diamond Trading Company (NDTC) held its first sight at the end of October and the beginning of November to coincide with the main DTC sight in London. At the Namibian event, $15 million worth of goods were sold to six local sightholders. Another five sightholders are on NDTC’s list, but cannot receive any goods until they start operating polishing plants, which must start by March 30, 2008. In the year following that date, NDTC intends to sell $200 million worth of rough to its sightholders. The first NDTC sight included goods produced domestically by Namdeb, the 50-50 joint venture of De Beers and the Namibian government, and “aggregated” international goods from the main DTC. At future sights, the more easily available locally produced goods will be sold one to two weeks ahead of the internationally produced stones, NDTC Sales and Marketing Manager Paulus Shituna said. Namdeb is required to “beneficiate” 10 percent of its stones to Namibia-based diamond polishing plants.

Date: 2007-11-09 Time: 07.32 AM

» 493 carat “Letseng Legacy” up for sale on tender at Antwerp World Diamond Centre

Source: AFNS Gem Diamonds Limited and the Government of the Kingdom of Lesotho have announced the 493 carat white diamond recovered from the Letšeng mine has been named “Letšeng Legacy”. This exceptional diamond will be tendered in Antwerp next week. The Letšeng Legacy ranks as the world’s 18th largest rough diamond and was recovered from the Letšeng le Terai Mine in Lesotho on the 7th of September, 2007. The name reflects growing legacy that the Letšeng le Terai Mine is creating as a producer of remarkable diamonds. Letšeng Diamonds, which is 70% owned by Gem Diamonds and 30% owned by the Government of the Kingdom of Lesotho, has now produced three of the world’s top twenty diamonds. Two of these were recovered by Gem Diamonds in the last 13 months - the 603 carat Lesotho Promise recovered in August 2006 and this 493 carat diamond. The 493 carat Letšeng Legacy will be sold on tender in Antwerp by WWW International Diamond Consultants on Wednesday the 14th of November at a ceremony and press conference hosted by the Antwerp World Diamond Centre and attended by the Lesotho Minister of Natural Resources, the Honourable Minister Monyane Moleleki, and the Gem Diamonds directors. The Lesotho Promise, which was the 15th largest rough diamond, was also sold on tender in Antwerp in October 2006 for US$12.4 million to Graff Jewellers. The collection of polished diamonds from the Lesotho Promise is expected to sell for between US$ 25-30 million. The Lesotho Brown diamond was recovered in 1961 and ranks as the world’s 16th largest diamond. It yielded 18 polished diamonds, the largest of which was recently re-acquired by the original buyer, jewellers Harry Winston. In January 2007, Letšeng Diamonds also produced a 215 carat D-colour flawless diamond which subsequently sold on tender for US$8.3 million. The Letšeng Mine hosts two kimberlites, the Main and Satellite Pipes, that have a combined diamond resource value of US$4.7 billion. It is renowned for producing some of the world’s largest diamonds which attract the highest average price per carat of any kimberlite mine. As reported in Gem Diamonds’ Interim Results to end June 2007 released on the 13th September, the average price per carat achieved from the Letšeng Satellite Pipe was US$ 1894 and US$ 1128 from the Main Pipe. This compares with the world average price of approximately US$ 81 per carat. The Antwerp World Diamond Centre (AWDC) is the official representative of the Belgian diamond sector, and in this capacity is charged with managing the relationship between the diamond sector and government, and promoting the interests of the Belgian diamond industry worldwide. PRESS RELEASE Contact : Philip Claes Tel +32 (0)3 222 05 05 Gsm + 32 (0)496 455 680

Date: 2007-11-08 Time: 07.30 AM

» De Beers to sell 10 percent of S. African output to SDT

Source: AFNS De Beers will sell 10 percent of the rough diamonds it produces in South Africa to the new State Diamond Trader, under a deal signed with the country’s Department of Minerals and Energy on October 8. The State Diamond Trader, which formally begins operations January 1, is entitled by law to receive 10 percent of the production of all South African diamond mining companies, which it will sell to domestic diamond polishing and jewelry manufacturing firms with the goal of encouraging the creation of value-added industry and local jobs—“beneficiation,” in the new jargon. De Beers has agreed to assist the State Diamond Trader with technical knowledge, equipment and expertise for the first three years of the new company’s operations, all provided through Diamdel, the De Beers subsidiary that used to sell rough diamonds to companies too small to be Diamond Trading Company sightholders. South African Minister of Minerals and Energy Buyelwa Sonjica said the government may extend the beneficiation model to other mining industries, although without the 10 percent provision

Date: 2007-11-07 Time: 12.25 PM

» Israeli polished exports jump 31 percent in September

Source: AFNS Israel reported a 31 percent jump in polished diamond exports to $645.6 million for last month, according to the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Labor. In volume terms, polished exports rose a more modest 4.3 percent to 327,041 carats for the month. Meanwhile, polished imports climbed just 1 percent to $358.4 million in September. Imports of rough stones declined 11 percent to $357.7 million, while rough exports jumped 7 percent to $252.7 million last month. For the first nine months of the year, polished exports climbed 8 percent to $5.34 billion, with imports growing 9 percent to $3 billion and net polished exports rising 7 percent to $2.33 billion. Rough imports in the January-September period jumped 15 percent to $3.66 billion, while rough exports rose by 26 percent to $2.5 billion.

Date: 2007-11-06 Time: 09.56 AM

» Angola posts diamond exports of $1.2 billion in 2006

Source: AFNS Angola’s revenues from diamond sales last year were $1.2 billion, according to the Jornal de Angola newspaper. It cited Hélder Marques, sales director of the state diamond marketing firm, Sodiam, as saying Angola sold 9.4 million carats during 2006. The figures were slightly higher than those published by the Kimberley Process several months ago, which gave Angolan diamond exports of 9.17 million carats valued at $1.13 billion, making it the fifth biggest producer by value in the world. In a breakdown of the statistics, Marques said 28 percent of the country’s diamond exports went to Antwerp with 28 percent, Hong Kong gets 19 percent, Geneva 10 percent, and Israel 7 percent.

Date: 2007-11-05 Time: 09.56 AM

» JA survey shows diamonds lead jewelry sales

Source: AFNS Diamonds, whether loose or set in finished jewelry, are still the most popular item sold by members of the Jewelers of America (JA), making up half their total sales, the organization found in its “2007 Cost of Doing Business Survey.” Colored stone jewelry was a distant second at 10 percent, followed by gold with 8 percent. All retail jewelry categories saw sales growth in 2006, although it was varied, the organization said. Median growth for all jewelers was 4.1 percent, up slightly from 3.9 percent in 2005. Independent high-end retailers fared best, with a 7.4 percent sales increase over 2005, which is in keeping with 7.1 percent growth of jewelry sales nationwide, according to IDEX Magazine. Designer and custom retailers saw 6.5 percent growth, while chain stores grew 4.3 percent and mid-range retailers had only a 2.4 percent increase over 2005 sales. Jewelry store profitability saw a 32 percent increase in 2006, compared to 2005 results; in 2006, the retailers JA surveyed had a median 5.3 percent net profit as a percent of net sales, compared to 4 percent in 2006. Although gross margins fell in 2006, the overall gross margin was up to 49.1 percent, from 48.4 percent in 2005. “Since growth is becoming more varied, it is clear that effectively managing and marketing is vital to the success of retail stores, and differentiates high-profit from low-profit firms,” JA said. “While high-profit stores in 2006 did not necessarily have greater sales per store—$985,000 on average compared to $1,179,000 for low-profit stores—they did have characteristics of efficient management: higher sales per square foot and turnover frequency, but lower payroll and operating expenses. For instance, high-profit stores had a 20 percent greater inventory turnover than low-profit firms and, therefore, much higher sales growth (6.8 percent versus 3.7 percent).” “High-profit retailers also contain their operating expenses by spending a lower percentage of net sales on payroll (17.8 percent compared to the average of 22.4 percent of low-profit firms),” JA said. “In fact, high-profit retailers are so efficient at saving on occupancy, advertising and other related expenses that they spent 7.2 percent less on total operating expenses than low-profit companies in 2006.”

Date: 2007-11-04 Time: 16.30 PM

» LVMH records 10 percent rise in revenues in third quarter

Source: AFNS Luxury retailer LVMH posted a 10 percent rise in revenues to 4 billion euros in the third quarter of 2007, with the firm’s watch and jewelry unit continuing to fulfill growth expectations. Revenues at the watch and jewelry division rose 13 percent to 199 million euros during the quarter ending September 30. During the January-September period, revenues climbed 8 percent to 11.44 billion euros. Watch and jewelry sales jumped 16 percent to 589 million euros in the first nine months of the year. LVMH’s brands include TAG Heuer, Carrera, Aquaracer, Link, Zenith, Dior and Chaumet. LVMH’s other business units include wine and spirits, fashion and leather goods, perfumes and cosmetics, and other retailing units.

Date: 2007-11-03 Time: 08.45 AM

» Namibia DTC announces 11 local sightholders

Source: AFNS The Namibia Diamond Trading Company (NDTC), a 50-50 joint venture between the Naimbian government and De Beers, announced its first 11 “sightholder” customers which have qualified to receive supplies of domestically mined rough diamonds for a three-and-a-half-year contract period ending in 2011. The first sight will be held October 29 for companies that had Namibian polishing plants in operation as of July 18, NDTC Chairman Shihaleni Ndjaba said. The other companies will receive their rough diamond supplies starting March 31, 2008. The 11 NDTC sightholders are Almod Diamonds Ltd., AMC/GemXel Diamonds (Pty) Ltd., Finesse Diamond Corporation, Hardstone Processing (Pty) Ltd., JKD Namibia (Pty) Ltd., Namcot, Namgem, LLD Diamonds Namibia (Pty) Ltd. (a part of the Leviev Group), Laurelton-Reign Diamonds (Pty) Ltd., NU Diamond Manufacturing (Pty) Ltd. and Trau Bros. Diamonds Namibia (Pty) Ltd. “NDTC received some 18 applications and had the tough job of assessing those that have demonstrated the strongest ability to both drive demand for diamonds and promote diamond cutting and polishing in Namibia,” Ndjaba said. “By 2009, N$2 billion (U.S.$300 million) worth of diamonds will be available for local diamond manufacturing. This represents almost 5 percent of Namibia’s GDP and is a significant step forward in building a more diversified diamond industry for our country.” The agreement to set up NDTC was reached in January. The company’s core objective is to help develop diamond sorting, valuing, selling and marketing practices in Namibia, using domestically mined stones. The formation of the company is also intended to help catalyze wider development of the Namibian economy through the expansion of the banking, security and IT sectors that will be necessary to support the new diamond manufacturing businesses. It is anticipated that the growth of cutting and polishing operations will also help to reinforce the country's positive investment climate for foreign businesses, the company said. De Beers and the Namibian government also operate a 50-50 diamond mining joint venture, Namdeb. “The establishment of NDTC is of significant value to the global diamond industry and is a clear demonstration of beneficiation in action. It will enhance Namibia's competitive supply advantage through skills and intellectual property transfer, building national capacity to meet the needs of a growing cutting and polishing industry,” said Varda Shine, managing director of DTC International and a member of the NDTC Board of Directors.

Date: 2007-11-02 Time: 11.20 PM

» South Africa compensates tribe for diamond lands

Source: AFNS A tribe of aboriginal inhabitants in the Richtersveld, a remote area on South Africa’s northwestern coast near the Namibian border, has reached a further settlement in a series of lawsuits against the government over the seizure of land for diamond mining 80 years ago. The government has now agreed to restore 330 square miles of coastal land to the 4,500 member Nama tribe, on top of the $28 million compensation agreement signed in April. Moreover, the government has agreed to spend additional millions of dollars on development in the area. The tribe is also entering into a 49-51 percent partnership with the government-owned diamond mining company Alexkor. Additionally, Alexkor is transferring ownership of the company town of Alexander Bay to the tribe. When the lawsuit was first filed 10 years ago, the government and the company argued, with initial success, that the British authorities and not the post-1948 apartheid government were responsible for seizing the land from the tribe, so that the tribe wasn’t eligible for post-apartheid compensation. Moreover, they argued that the diamonds mined there—reportedly some $2.7 billion over the years—should be used for the good of South Africa as a whole, and not just the Nama. But the tribe prevailed on appeal to the Constitutional Court in 2003.

Date: 2007-11-01 Time: 10.00 AM

» Alrosa planning three-year sights deals

Source: AFNS Russian diamond miner Alrosa plans to have a system of three-year diamond sights ready by the end of this year, according to president Sergey Vybornov. The plan foresees a number of clients that will be entitled to purchase $100-$250 million of goods annually according to an agreed price formula with Alrosa. The multi-year contracts will start in 2008 following the end of current contractual sales obligations in December. Alrosa has come up with the plan following the European Commission decision to require the company to end diamond sales to De Beers in an anti-trust decision. Alrosa is appealing that decision.

Date: 2007-10-31 Time: 09.15AM

» HRD seminar to look at treated and synthetic diamonds

Source: AFNS HRD Antwerp Research will be holding an important symposium on the latest developments in treated and synthetic diamonds at the HRD building in Antwerp on October 24. The issues of treated and synthetic diamonds have gained increasing importance in the past few years. Attendees at the symposium, entitled Treated and Synthetic Diamonds: Newest Developments, will be welcomed by Georges Brys, General Manager HRD Antwerp NV, with Yves Kerremans, Head HRD Research, providing the introduction. The audience will hear lectures from Jay Neogi, Chief Executive Officer of Serenity Technology, who will speak on Serenity color enhanced diamonds; Philip Martineau, of the Diamond Trading Company Research Centre, who will talk about colorless and heat treated brown CVD synthetic diamonds; Jef Van Royen, of HRD Research, who will speak about HPHT treatment of IaB diamonds; and John Chapman, Manager Diamond Technology, Rio Tinto Diamonds, whose talk will deal with techniques for detecting natural pink diamonds. Closing remarks will be made by Katrien de Corte of HRD Research. This will be followed by a reception. Subscription is necessary, but free of charge. Please confirm your attendance at kdm@hrd.be

Date: 2007-10-30 Time: 07.32 AM

» Diamond industry pledges support for Africa at Antwerp diamond conference Antwerp to facilitate coop

Source: AFNS Antwerp, Belgium, 22 October 2007 – Participants from over 40 countries across five continents gathered at the 2007 Antwerp Diamond Conference to hear industry leaders express their support and understanding of the beneficiation policies of diamond producing states. African governments were urged to make use of the history, skills and knowledge of established centres, such as Antwerp, as they move to capture more value from their natural resources. Titled ‘Producers in transition: the changing industry dynamic’, the two-day forum hosted by the Antwerp World Diamond Centre (AWDC) addressed, for the first time, the most fundamental shifts in the diamond industry: African beneficiation. African countries seek to capture additional value from the supply chain by linking rough diamond mining and distribution with the establishment of local diamond cutting and polishing centres. The implications of this policy shift will be felt throughout the industry. Kago Moshashane, Botswana’s Acting Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Minerals Energy and Water, opened the discussion. He assured the industry that his country’s beneficiation policies will be based on sustainability and profitability. “Botswana does not desire to recklessly compete where she does not have the natural advantage to do so,” Moshashane explained. “We rather wish to actively seek synergies with other world diamond centres and other stakeholders across the industry from mine to market.” Other African leaders echoed his remarks. While they stated their intention to move forward on their beneficiation policies, they affirmed their desire for collaboration rather than hostility as seen with other resource nationalisation policies such as in South America. Gareth Penny, Managing Director of De Beers, responded in an impassioned speech by describing beneficiation as “an imperative, an absolute essential and critical part of their macroeconomic policy.” Several other international mining companies also described their support for African and Canadian beneficiation – affirming their commitment to the countries in which they operate. While supportive of the aims of beneficiation, keynote speaker Joseph Stiglitz, the 2001 Nobel Prize Laureate for Economics, gave a cautionary speech about this policy development. Stiglitz explained that well-managed beneficiation coupled with sound macroeconomic policies has the power to transform countries into fully developed economies. The consequence of mismanagement, however, could be further deterioration of the country’s economic and social conditions. Sergey Vybornov, President of the Russian-state mining organisation Alrosa, was hesitant about African countries’ beneficiation plans. He described Russia’s unsuccessful attempt to cut and polish its diamonds locally, despite having the advantage of receiving supplies directly from their parent company. Vybornov called on the African states that are setting up manufacturing plants “not to repeat our mistakes.” Vybornov’s comments generated a lively discussion, which followed the fiery speech given by Sir Bob Geldof at the Gala dinner the previous night. Geldof gave a frank and passionate address about the imperative of Western countries, and particularly European nations, to tackle the social and economic depravity crippling many African states. Additionally, Geldof called on African leaders to do more to evenly distribute the wealth generated from natural resources, thereby bridging the divide between the rich and the poor. Given the challenges beneficiation presents, the conference demonstrated the need for the public and private sectors to work together in harmony to balance the needs and goals of both parties. AWDC CEO, Freddy J. Hanard, closed the conference by stating, “cooperation, sustainability and profitability are the key ingredients in developing a successful model for beneficiation.” To facilitate this cooperation and to advance the industry’s knowledge about the issue, the AWDC pledged to take the discussion to the next level. To this end, the AWDC and Alrosa signed a Memorandum of Understanding to deepen commercial ties. Penny recognised Antwerp’s role when he said, “I would argue that without Antwerp these new [African] cutting centres will not succeed. Both diamond producers and producer governments must recognise the vitally important role that the industry here in Antwerp…will play in helping bring the vision of an African diamond manufacturing industry to life.” The full press kit is available for downloading at the Antwerp Diamond Conference website: www.antwerpdiamondconference.be

Date: 2007-10-29 Time: 09.56 AM

» Marie Antoinette jewels to be auctioned in December

Source: AFNS A necklace containing diamonds and pearls that once belonged to Queen Marie Antoinette of France is to go on sale at Christie’s Magnificent Jewellery auction in London in December and is expected to fetch $800,000. The necklace contains diamonds and pearls that were originally loose in a bag that Marie Antoinette gave for safekeeping to Lady Sutherland, the wife of the British ambassador to France, in 1792, the year before the French queen’s execution. With Marie Antoinette unable to recover the gemstones, they were passed down through the Sutherland family, a direct descendant of which is selling them now after they have been kept in a bank vault for many years. The diamonds were made into a necklace with rubies, and the pearls were added in 1849 for the wedding of Sutherland’s grandson. Christie’s is absolutely sure of the provenance of the diamonds and gemstones, which has been documented, according to Raymond Sancroft-Baker, senior director of Christie’s jewelry in London.

Date: 2007-10-28 Time: 16.30 PM

» Tiffany & Co. plans two new stores in China

Source: AFNS Tiffany & Co. will open two new stores in Tianjin and Shenyang in China to add to the company’s two existing stores in Beijing and Shanghai. The new stores will be opened in two cities that are among China’s 10 largest cities. “Tianjin and Shenyang are well located, with robust economies, great natural beauty and a wealth of historical treasures,” said Darren Chen, Tiffany & Co. group vice president. “These factors account for the cities’ growth as major business centers and travel destinations for tourists worldwide, and they define the ideal environment for a Tiffany & Co. store,” he said. The approximately 1,400-square-foot Tianjin store will be located in the Friendship Store, a luxury retail center at the center of the city’s cultural and commercial district, and is planned to open in December. The approximately 2,200-square-foot Shenyang store will be located in the Charter Shopping Center, situated in the city’s main shopping area and is due to open next January.

Date: 2007-10-27 Time: 09.15AM

» Russian miner Alrosa facing audit in November

Source: AFNS Russian diamond mining monopoly Alrosa is to undergo an audit in November, said Sergei Stepashin, head of the Russian Audit Chamber. He said the company’s finances, day-to-day operations and efficiency will be subject to open scrutiny. The company has been audited before and was told it would have to pay billions of rubles in back taxes, in a move widely seen as attempted intimidation on the part of Russian President Vladimir Putin. Alrosa is controlled by the Russian government, which holds a 48 percent stake. The government of the autonomous Republic of Yakutia, local regions within Yakutia and company executives hold lesser stakes.

Date: 2007-10-26 Time: 07.32 AM

» Leviev Group denies buying rubies or diamonds from Burma

Source: AFNS The Leviev Group said it does not buy diamonds, rubies or other precious stones from trubled Asian state Myanmar (Burma), and that any stones from the country available in its retail stores are from decades-old collections. London’s Sunday Times had reported that Burmese rubies are available at the Leviev Group’s retail jewelry store in London, and that the sale of such stones helps the military junta in Burma stay in power. The Israel-based Leviev Group opened the London outlet two years ago, and another retail store in Moscow more recently. Burma is not on any UN list that would prohibit it from exporting diamonds or precious stones.

Date: 2007-10-25 Time: 07.30 AM

» Vaaldiam acquiring Elkedra, Great Western Diamonds

Source: AFNS Canadian diamond mining company Vaaldiam Resources Ltd. is seeking to acquire Australian diamond mining company Elkedra Diamonds NL and Great Western Diamonds Corp. in all-stock deals. Elkedra has called an October 29 shareholder meeting to discuss the proposed deal which the board of directors supports. Vaaldiam said on August 15 that it had raised $26.3 million in a private placement. Three-quarters of the money is being held in escrow and will be released on the closing of Vaaldiam's acquisition of Elkedra to fund the merged company’s activities. The combination of Vaaldiam with Elkedra and Great Western will make Vaaldiam South America’s largest diamond producer, according to Elkedra. The combined company will be a diamond production, exploration and development company with a pro forma market capitalization of more than $170 million, and will market “high-quality diamonds with a combined average sales value of over $300 per carat,” Elkedra said. The merged firm will wholly own two producing alluvial diamond mines in Brazil, both of which have expected production lives of more than eight years. The mines’ combined projected production is 50,000 carats in 2007 and more than 85,000 carats by 2008. The merged firm will also wholly own advanced kimberlite exploration projects in Brazil at Brauna (Bahia State) and Pimenta Bueno and Ariquemes (Rondonia State); in Canada, at the Candle Lake and Centennial projects at Fort a la Corne, Saskatchewan; as well as owning 53 kimberlite deposits and controlling approximately 1.5 million hectares of diamond exploration concessions in Brazil and Canada.

Date: 2007-10-24 Time: 12.25 PM

» Finlay buying Bailey Banks & Biddle for $200 million

Source: AFNS Fine jewelry retailer Finlay Enterprises, Inc. is paying $200 million to buy Bailey Banks & Biddle, a chain of 70 stand-alone luxury jewelry and watch stores in 24 states, from Zale Corporation. The deal is expected to be completed by the end of October. Finlay said the acquisition should contribute sales of approximately $280 million to $300 million in its 2008 fiscal year, which ends January 31, 2009. Bailey Banks & Biddle’s earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortization are expected to be “in the range of $23 million to $27 million” for the fiscal year, Finlay said. The deal also includes an inventory adjustment at the time of closing and Finlay’s assumption of certain liabilities from Zale. Finlay said it will finance the transaction through a new $550 million five-year revolving credit facility from GE Corporate Lending. The acquisition “almost triples the number of stand-alone jewelry stores we operate,” Finlay Chairman Arthur E. Reiner said. “This transaction expands our presence in the luxury market and builds upon our Carlyle acquisition in 2005 and our Congress acquisition in 2006, increasing our luxury and better specialty business, including Bloomingdales and Lord & Taylor, to over $550 million. We believe the high-end market, which has performed very well in recent years, will continue to be one of the most attractive segments of the jewelry business.”

Date: 2007-10-23 Time: 09.56 AM

» South Africa monster diamond find still unverified

Source: AFNS Reports that a diamond with the unbelievable weight of 7,500 carats was found in South Africa’s North West Province have not been confirmed, although Ernest Blom, president of the World Federation of Diamond Bourses, did confirm that he has been approached by a small mining company that asked for his help in verifying whether a very large stone was a diamond. He said the owners have security concerns. The South African Broadcasting Corporation reported in August that the large stone had been deposited in a vault in Johannesburg. If the size reported is correct, it would be more than twice the size of the Cullinan diamond, which weighed 3,106 carats when it was found in 1905. However, experts say it is unlikely such a huge stone could be found in the alluvial deposits of South Africa’s North West. In the meantime, the stone has reportedly remained in South Africa.

Date: 2007-10-22 Time: 13.10 PM

» Japanese polished diamond imports fall through August

Source: AFNS Japan imported 1.5 million carats of polished diamonds worth $594.8 million in the first eight months of 2007, a decline of 19.6 percent by weight and 15.4 percent by value. Polished imports fell 12 months in a row in value terms until August, when they ticked up 1.2 percent to $61.5 million. In weight terms, however, August was another month of decline, with polished diamond imports falling 9.1 percent to 178,394 carats. The leading supplier of polished diamonds to Japan in August was India, with $37.4 million worth of stones, 60 percent of the total and a 31.4 percent increase. Japan also recorded increases in its polished diamond imports from the United States, China, Hong Kong and Thailand in August, while the country imported $5.6 million of polished goods from Belgium, a 45.9 percent decrease, and $2.8 million worth of goods from Israel, a 54.6 percent drop. Colored gemstone imports to Japan were down across the board in August. Ruby, sapphire and emerald imports totaled $2.78 million, a 32.1 percent decline; pearl imports were $19.1 million, a 16.1 percent drop, and imports of other precious stones totaled $5.4 million, a 22.3 percent decline. Gold and silver jewelry imports were down 5.2 percent and 7.3 percent in the first eight months of the year, to $509.1 million and $162.1 million, respectively, while platinum jewelry imports were unchanged at $278.2 million.

Date: 2007-10-21 Time: 09.15 AM

» Zimbabwe to require beneficiation of diamonds

Source: AFNS Zimbabwe is the latest African diamond producing nation hoping to join the “beneficiation” movement, using domestically mined rough diamonds to create value-added diamond polishing and jewelry manufacturing industries. Neighboring states South Africa, Botswana and Namibia have already started this process. Zimbabwe’s Minister of Mines and Mining Development Cde Amos Midzi said the government is working on a legal framework that would require diamond mining companies to set aside a proportion of the stones they produce for domestic polishing plants. He said the mining companies agree that this should be done, and the government is talking with them about how to go about it. Midzi said the government is also working on improving security and stricter trading regulations for diamonds. The only significant diamond mine in Zimbabwe is the Murowa Mine, in which Rio Tinto holds a 78 percent stake. Other diamond sites in the poverty-stricken nation have been overrun by desperate squatters, and smuggling has been rampant as the economy has been destroyed under the dictatorship of President Robert Mugabe.

Date: 2007-10-20 Time: 07.32AM

» Antwerp Diamond Conference to address dramatic restructuring of rough supply chain

Source: AFNS With the opening in 2008 of the giant DTC Botswana rough diamond sorting facility in Gaborone and the growing insistence of governments in the southern African diamond producing countries that their nations capture a larger share of the value chain, one of the most significant shifts in the history of the diamond distribution pipeline appears to be underway. The course and impact of these developments on the diamond market will come under the spotlight at the Fourth Antwerp Diamond Conference, which will take place on October 15 and 16 in the Belgian diamond centre. “We are witnessing the beginning of a process that we know will change the way in the which the diamond industry has operated for more than a century, but there are very real questions about the degree of change and what effects it will have on the business and the diamond market,” says Freddy J. Hanard, CEO of the Antwerp World Diamond Centre, the organiser of the Antwerp Diamond Conference. “These changes are forcing members of our industry to question how and where they will obtain rough supply in the future, and where they will process the diamonds. All these issues will be addressed at the conference in Antwerp.” The need to secure a greater portion of the diamond value chain is considered an issue of critical economic and political importance in Botswana, South Africa and Namibia, as well as Angola, which together supply more than 50 percent of the rough diamonds flowing into the pipeline each year. Government officials from these countries have said on numerous occasions that they no longer will accept a situation in which Africa exclusively operates as a supplier of raw materials, while the other, higher added-value stages in the distribution pipeline occur primarily elsewhere. A change in the situation, they have said, is crucial to the region’s development. To remedy the situation, the countries have rewritten legislation to mandate that local cutting industries get first pickings on domestic production, and levies be imposed on rough exports. The result, thus far, is dramatic increase in the number of large diamond companies that have set up cutting plants in the region. Simultaneously, De Beers has been constructing in the Botswana capital of Gaborone its massive DTC Botswana facility, which after it opens next year reportedly will become responsible for sorting and distributing all of the company’s southern African production, reducing the traditional role played by Diamond Trading Company in London. But questions have been raised about the viability of the fledgling African cutting industry, which faces stiff competition from India and China, and currently lacks the physical and financial infrastructures that are available elsewhere. To address the various issues, the organiser of the Antwerp Diamond Conference have assembled a blue ribbon list of speakers, including high-ranking government officials from Botswana, South Africa, Namibia and Angola; the heads of the major diamond mining producers, including De Beers, Alrosa, BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto; the heads of junior diamond producers in southern Africa; a panel of rough diamond market specialists; and senior banking officials. (A full speaker’s list is attached.) Providing a neutral overview of the situation will be Professor Joseph Stiglitz, the former head of U.S. President Bill Clinton’s Council of Economic Advisors and the co-winner of the Nobel Prize for Economics in 2001. The 2007 Antwerp Diamond Conference, which is entitled “Producers in Transition: The Changing Industry Dynamic,” will take place on Monday October 15, and Tuesday, October 16, the Elisabethzaal of the Flanders Congress & Concert Centre on the Koningin Astridplein, adjacent to the city’s famous diamond district. The conference’s traditional charity gala dinner will take place at the Waagnatie on the evening of October 15, in the presence of HRH Princess Mathilde of Belgium and HE Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, the president of Liberia. Delivering keynote addresses at the gala dinner will be President Johnson Sirleaf and Sir Bob Geldof, the Irish pop star and social activist. Registration for the conference is possible via a dedicated website: www.antwerpdiamondconference.be

Date: 2007-10-19 Time: 07.30 AM

» Marie Antoinette jewels to be auctioned in December

Source: AFNS A necklace containing diamonds and pearls that once belonged to Queen Marie Antoinette of France is to go on sale at Christie’s Magnificent Jewellery auction in London in December and is expected to fetch $800,000. The necklace contains diamonds and pearls that were originally loose in a bag that Marie Antoinette gave for safekeeping to Lady Sutherland, the wife of the British ambassador to France, in 1792, the year before the French queen’s execution. With Marie Antoinette unable to recover the gemstones, they were passed down through the Sutherland family, a direct descendant of which is selling them now after they have been kept in a bank vault for many years. The diamonds were made into a necklace with rubies, and the pearls were added in 1849 for the wedding of Sutherland’s grandson. Christie’s is absolutely sure of the provenance of the diamonds and gemstones, which has been documented, according to Raymond Sancroft-Baker, senior director of Christie’s jewelry in London.

Date: 2007-10-18 Time: 11.11 AM

» Tiffany & Co. plans two new stores in China

Source: AFNS Tiffany & Co. will open two new stores in Tianjin and Shenyang in China to add to the company’s two existing stores in Beijing and Shanghai. The new stores will be opened in two cities that are among China’s 10 largest cities. “Tianjin and Shenyang are well located, with robust economies, great natural beauty and a wealth of historical treasures,” said Darren Chen, Tiffany & Co. group vice president. “These factors account for the cities’ growth as major business centers and travel destinations for tourists worldwide, and they define the ideal environment for a Tiffany & Co. store,” he said. The approximately 1,400-square-foot Tianjin store will be located in the Friendship Store, a luxury retail center at the center of the city’s cultural and commercial district, and is planned to open in December. The approximately 2,200-square-foot Shenyang store will be located in the Charter Shopping Center, situated in the city’s main shopping area and is due to open next January.

Date: 2007-10-17 Time: 07.50 AM

» Russian miner Alrosa facing audit in November

Source: AFNS Russian diamond mining monopoly Alrosa is to undergo an audit in November, said Sergei Stepashin, head of the Russian Audit Chamber. He said the company’s finances, day-to-day operations and efficiency will be subject to open scrutiny. The company has been audited before and was told it would have to pay billions of rubles in back taxes, in a move widely seen as attempted intimidation on the part of Russian President Vladimir Putin. Alrosa is controlled by the Russian government, which holds a 48 percent stake. The government of the autonomous Republic of Yakutia, local regions within Yakutia and company executives hold lesser stakes.

Date: 2007-10-16 Time: 12.25 PM

» Leviev Group denies buying rubies or diamonds from Burma

Source: AFNS The Leviev Group said it does not buy diamonds, rubies or other precious stones from trubled Asian state Myanmar (Burma), and that any stones from the country available in its retail stores are from decades-old collections. London’s Sunday Times had reported that Burmese rubies are available at the Leviev Group’s retail jewelry store in London, and that the sale of such stones helps the military junta in Burma stay in power. The Israel-based Leviev Group opened the London outlet two years ago, and another retail store in Moscow more recently. Burma is not on any UN list that would prohibit it from exporting diamonds or precious stones.

Date: 2007-10-15 Time: 09.56 AM

» Vaaldiam acquiring Elkedra, Great Western Diamonds

Source: AFNS Canadian diamond mining company Vaaldiam Resources Ltd. is seeking to acquire Australian diamond mining company Elkedra Diamonds NL and Great Western Diamonds Corp. in all-stock deals. Elkedra has called an October 29 shareholder meeting to discuss the proposed deal which the board of directors supports. Vaaldiam said on August 15 that it had raised $26.3 million in a private placement. Three-quarters of the money is being held in escrow and will be released on the closing of Vaaldiam's acquisition of Elkedra to fund the merged company’s activities. The combination of Vaaldiam with Elkedra and Great Western will make Vaaldiam South America’s largest diamond producer, according to Elkedra. The combined company will be a diamond production, exploration and development company with a pro forma market capitalization of more than $170 million, and will market “high-quality diamonds with a combined average sales value of over $300 per carat,” Elkedra said. The merged firm will wholly own two producing alluvial diamond mines in Brazil, both of which have expected production lives of more than eight years. The mines’ combined projected production is 50,000 carats in 2007 and more than 85,000 carats by 2008. The merged firm will also wholly own advanced kimberlite exploration projects in Brazil at Brauna (Bahia State) and Pimenta Bueno and Ariquemes (Rondonia State); in Canada, at the Candle Lake and Centennial projects at Fort a la Corne, Saskatchewan; as well as owning 53 kimberlite deposits and controlling approximately 1.5 million hectares of diamond exploration concessions in Brazil and Canada.

Date: 2007-10-14 Time: 12.25 PM

» Finlay buying Bailey Banks & Biddle for $200 million

Source: AFNS Fine jewelry retailer Finlay Enterprises, Inc. is paying $200 million to buy Bailey Banks & Biddle, a chain of 70 stand-alone luxury jewelry and watch stores in 24 states, from Zale Corporation. The deal is expected to be completed by the end of October. Finlay said the acquisition should contribute sales of approximately $280 million to $300 million in its 2008 fiscal year, which ends January 31, 2009. Bailey Banks & Biddle’s earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortization are expected to be “in the range of $23 million to $27 million” for the fiscal year, Finlay said. The deal also includes an inventory adjustment at the time of closing and Finlay’s assumption of certain liabilities from Zale. Finlay said it will finance the transaction through a new $550 million five-year revolving credit facility from GE Corporate Lending. The acquisition “almost triples the number of stand-alone jewelry stores we operate,” Finlay Chairman Arthur E. Reiner said. “This transaction expands our presence in the luxury market and builds upon our Carlyle acquisition in 2005 and our Congress acquisition in 2006, increasing our luxury and better specialty business, including Bloomingdales and Lord & Taylor, to over $550 million. We believe the high-end market, which has performed very well in recent years, will continue to be one of the most attractive segments of the jewelry business.”

Date: 2007-10-13 Time: 09.56 AM

» South Africa monster diamond find still unverified

Source: AFNS Reports that a diamond with the unbelievable weight of 7,500 carats was found in South Africa’s North West Province have not been confirmed, although Ernest Blom, president of the World Federation of Diamond Bourses, did confirm that he has been approached by a small mining company that asked for his help in verifying whether a very large stone was a diamond. He said the owners have security concerns. The South African Broadcasting Corporation reported in August that the large stone had been deposited in a vault in Johannesburg. If the size reported is correct, it would be more than twice the size of the Cullinan diamond, which weighed 3,106 carats when it was found in 1905. However, experts say it is unlikely such a huge stone could be found in the alluvial deposits of South Africa’s North West. In the meantime, the stone has reportedly remained in South Africa.

Date: 2007-10-12 Time: 12.25 PM

» Japanese polished diamond imports fall through August

Source: AFNS Japan imported 1.5 million carats of polished diamonds worth $594.8 million in the first eight months of 2007, a decline of 19.6 percent by weight and 15.4 percent by value. Polished imports fell 12 months in a row in value terms until August, when they ticked up 1.2 percent to $61.5 million. In weight terms, however, August was another month of decline, with polished diamond imports falling 9.1 percent to 178,394 carats. The leading supplier of polished diamonds to Japan in August was India, with $37.4 million worth of stones, 60 percent of the total and a 31.4 percent increase. Japan also recorded increases in its polished diamond imports from the United States, China, Hong Kong and Thailand in August, while the country imported $5.6 million of polished goods from Belgium, a 45.9 percent decrease, and $2.8 million worth of goods from Israel, a 54.6 percent drop. Colored gemstone imports to Japan were down across the board in August. Ruby, sapphire and emerald imports totaled $2.78 million, a 32.1 percent decline; pearl imports were $19.1 million, a 16.1 percent drop, and imports of other precious stones totaled $5.4 million, a 22.3 percent decline. Gold and silver jewelry imports were down 5.2 percent and 7.3 percent in the first eight months of the year, to $509.1 million and $162.1 million, respectively, while platinum jewelry imports were unchanged at $278.2 million.

Date: 2007-10-11 Time: 09.56 AM

» Zimbabwe to require beneficiation of diamonds

Source: AFNS Zimbabwe is the latest African diamond producing nation hoping to join the “beneficiation” movement, using domestically mined rough diamonds to create value-added diamond polishing and jewelry manufacturing industries. Neighboring states South Africa, Botswana and Namibia have already started this process. Zimbabwe’s Minister of Mines and Mining Development Cde Amos Midzi said the government is working on a legal framework that would require diamond mining companies to set aside a proportion of the stones they produce for domestic polishing plants. He said the mining companies agree that this should be done, and the government is talking with them about how to go about it. Midzi said the government is also working on improving security and stricter trading regulations for diamonds. The only significant diamond mine in Zimbabwe is the Murowa Mine, in which Rio Tinto holds a 78 percent stake. Other diamond sites in the poverty-stricken nation have been overrun by desperate squatters, and smuggling has been rampant as the economy has been destroyed under the dictatorship of President Robert Mugabe.

Date: 2007-10-10 Time: 16.30 PM

» Antwerp Diamond Conference to address dramatic restructuring of rough supply chain

Source: AFNS With the opening in 2008 of the giant DTC Botswana rough diamond sorting facility in Gaborone and the growing insistence of governments in the southern African diamond producing countries that their nations capture a larger share of the value chain, one of the most significant shifts in the history of the diamond distribution pipeline appears to be underway. The course and impact of these developments on the diamond market will come under the spotlight at the Fourth Antwerp Diamond Conference, which will take place on October 15 and 16 in the Belgian diamond centre. “We are witnessing the beginning of a process that we know will change the way in the which the diamond industry has operated for more than a century, but there are very real questions about the degree of change and what effects it will have on the business and the diamond market,” says Freddy J. Hanard, CEO of the Antwerp World Diamond Centre, the organiser of the Antwerp Diamond Conference. “These changes are forcing members of our industry to question how and where they will obtain rough supply in the future, and where they will process the diamonds. All these issues will be addressed at the conference in Antwerp.” The need to secure a greater portion of the diamond value chain is considered an issue of critical economic and political importance in Botswana, South Africa and Namibia, as well as Angola, which together supply more than 50 percent of the rough diamonds flowing into the pipeline each year. Government officials from these countries have said on numerous occasions that they no longer will accept a situation in which Africa exclusively operates as a supplier of raw materials, while the other, higher added-value stages in the distribution pipeline occur primarily elsewhere. A change in the situation, they have said, is crucial to the region’s development. To remedy the situation, the countries have rewritten legislation to mandate that local cutting industries get first pickings on domestic production, and levies be imposed on rough exports. The result, thus far, is dramatic increase in the number of large diamond companies that have set up cutting plants in the region. Simultaneously, De Beers has been constructing in the Botswana capital of Gaborone its massive DTC Botswana facility, which after it opens next year reportedly will become responsible for sorting and distributing all of the company’s southern African production, reducing the traditional role played by Diamond Trading Company in London. But questions have been raised about the viability of the fledgling African cutting industry, which faces stiff competition from India and China, and currently lacks the physical and financial infrastructures that are available elsewhere. To address the various issues, the organiser of the Antwerp Diamond Conference have assembled a blue ribbon list of speakers, including high-ranking government officials from Botswana, South Africa, Namibia and Angola; the heads of the major diamond mining producers, including De Beers, Alrosa, BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto; the heads of junior diamond producers in southern Africa; a panel of rough diamond market specialists; and senior banking officials. (A full speaker’s list is attached.) Providing a neutral overview of the situation will be Professor Joseph Stiglitz, the former head of U.S. President Bill Clinton’s Council of Economic Advisors and the co-winner of the Nobel Prize for Economics in 2001. The 2007 Antwerp Diamond Conference, which is entitled “Producers in Transition: The Changing Industry Dynamic,” will take place on Monday October 15, and Tuesday, October 16, the Elisabethzaal of the Flanders Congress & Concert Centre on the Koningin Astridplein, adjacent to the city’s famous diamond district. The conference’s traditional charity gala dinner will take place at the Waagnatie on the evening of October 15, in the presence of HRH Princess Mathilde of Belgium and HE Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, the president of Liberia. Delivering keynote addresses at the gala dinner will be President Johnson Sirleaf and Sir Bob Geldof, the Irish pop star and social activist. Registration for the conference is possible via a dedicated website: www.antwerpdiamondconference.be

Date: 2007-10-09 Time: 08.45 AM

» Poisonous cobra watches over diamond shoes for Harrods

Source: AFNS Harrods department store in London came up with a unique security measure when it unveiled a pair of ruby, sapphire and diamond-encrusted shoes in London in mid-September. The store borrowed a live Egyptian cobra, whose bite can be fatal, to guard the shoe counter and make sure no one made off with the costly footware. The snake was brought in only for the first day’s display of the shoes, which are priced at $152,300.

Date: 2007-10-08 Time: 11.20 PM

» Enormous diamond-shaped artwork goes up for auction

Source: AFNS An enormous blue stainless steel sculpture in the shape of a diamond by artist Jeff Koons is due to be auctioned by Christie’s on November 13. The selling price is estimated at $12 million. The item is more than seven feet wide almost eight feet tall. It can be viewed outside Christie’s offices in Rockefeller Center, New York City. While Christie’s would not divulge the seller’s identity, it is said to be publisher Benedict Taschen, who bought it shortly after it was made and has kept it in storage since then. The blue “diamond” is part of Koons’ “Celebration” series, begun in 1994, which features four other giant diamond-shaped sculptures, including a pink one owned by collector and hedge fund manager David Ganek that was put on display at London’s Victoria and Albert Museum last year, and a green one that the Gagosian Gallery put up for sale two years ago at the Art Basel auction for $2.3 million.

Date: 2007-10-07 Time: 10.00 AM

» China’s 2007 diamond jewelry sales expected to rise 12 percent

Source: AFNS Diamond jewelry sales in China are expected to rise 12 percent this year from last year’s figure of almost $2 billion. Providing an extra boost is last year’s cut in China’s value-added tax on imported gemstones. According to De Beers, China is the second-biggest diamond market in Asia and the fastest-growing consumer diamond market in the world after India. Diamond jewelry is increasingly displacing the traditional gold and jade jewelry grooms give to brides in China. Diamond wedding jewelry now makes up 32 percent of the Chinese diamond jewelry market overall, according to De Beers. Christina Hudson, marketing director for the De Beers Group in Greater China, said that diamond wedding jewelry is at the center of De Beers’ growth strategy in China, as it has traditionally been for the company elsewhere in the world.

Date: 2007-10-06 Time: 09.15AM

» Petra Diamonds to buy De Beers’ Kimberley mines for $11 Mln

Source: AFNS De Beers Consolidated Mines (DBCM), the South African arm of the De Beers Group, announced September 14 that it has agreed to sell its Kimberley underground mines, which were shuttered in 2005, to Petra Diamonds for R78.5 million ($10.9 million). The transaction price includes cash and a guarantee from Petra to take over De Beers’ full environmental rehabilitation liability. Petra also took over full responsibility for care and maintenance of the underground mines from the date the deal was inked. Petra will operate the mines with its black economic empowerment (BEE) joint venture partner Sedibeng Mining, with which Petra also operates the Dancarl Mine in South Africa’s Barkley West District, which Petra purchased from DBCM in a transaction that was completed in July. Petra also purchased DBCM’s money-losing Koffiefontein Mine in November 2006. Petra, Sedibeng and DBCM now must seek approvals from South Africa’s Department of Minerals and Energy so that the joint venture can operate the mines at optimal levels. Petra believes that, based on its operating model, the Kimberley underground mines will have an economic life of more than 10 years. The agreement follows February’s announcement by De Beers that it intended to seek offers for its underground mines and selected tailing treatment sites in and around Kimberley, as well as for the Cullinan Diamond Mine. Petra, quoted on the London Stock Exchange’s AIM market and on the Australian Stock Exchange, employs more than 2,000 people and owns diamond assets in Sierra Leone, Botswana, Angola and South Africa. The company has four producing mines in South Africa: Helam, Koffiefontein, Sedibeng and Star. Koffiefontein is an underground kimberlite pipe operation, while the rest are fissure operations that the company acquired when it acquired Crown Diamonds NL in May 2005. Petra’s South African mines produced 175,000 carats in the year ending June 2006 and, with the acquisition of the Koffiefontein and Kimberley mines, will increase to more than 300,000 carats a year over the next two years.

Date: 2007-10-05 Time: 07.32AM

» De Beers denies shipping diamonds before end of aparthei

Source: AFNS De Beers has again denied for the record that it deliberately stockpiled diamonds outside South Africa before the 1994 all-race elections that ended apartheid in that country and brought the ruling African National Congress (ANC) to power. The testimony was given this time by Bruce Cleaver, De Beers’ commercial and legal director, who was speaking to South Africa’s Standing Committee on Public Accounts. Cleaver denied that the company had exported some 20 million carats of diamonds from South Africa in 1993, as claimed by the country’s Department of Minerals and Energy and the Auditor-General’s office. Instead, he said, De Beers exported only a normal level of 1.6 million carats from South Africa that year. He added that the company always maintains various diamond stockpiles in different countries. However, members of the ANC-dominated committee called on De Beers to provide figures for its exports and stockpiles in 1992, and also said the company should disclose to the committee what it paid in regional services council levies, which applied to diamond exports back then. Cleaver said De Beers would provide the latter figures if they are available and relevant. Once the committee reaches conclusions on the matter, it will make recommendations to South Africa’s parliament.

Date: 2007-10-04 Time: 09.56 AM

» Gem Diamonds finds 494-carat stone

Source: AFNS Gem Diamonds Limited said it found a 494 carat rough diamond at its Letseng Mine in Lesotho September 7, and insured it for $15 million. This is believed to rank as the 18th largest rough diamond in the world. It has excellent color and high clarity, the company said. The Letseng mine, which is 70 percent owned by Gem Diamonds and 30 percent owned by the Lesotho government, has now produced three of the world’s 20 biggest diamonds, including the Lesotho Promise, which Gem Diamonds found in August 2006. That stone was auctioned in Antwerp in October 2006 for $12.4 million, and is the 15th largest rough diamond in the world, while the Lesotho Brown diamond, which was found at the Letšeng Mine in 1961, was the 16th largest. The mine also produced a 215-carat D-flawless diamond in January 2007, which was auctioned for $8.3 million. The Letseng Mine has two kimberlites with a combined estimated diamond resource value of $4.7 billion. The average price per carat of stones found in the “Letseng Satellite Pipe” was $1,894, and at the “Main Pipe” it was $1,128. This compares with the world average price of approximately $81 per carat. In its report for the first half of 2007, Gem Diamonds noted that it had its IPO on the London Stock Exchange in February, raising $635 million, and since then has acquired the Gope deposit in Botswana for $34 million, BDI Mining in Indonesia for $80.1 million and has made a $263 million offer for Australia’s Kimberley Diamond Company. Operating profits for the period were $16.8 million on revenue of $69.8 million, and the Letseng Mine continues to produce ahead of plan, with a second plant scheduled for commissioning in early 2008.

Date: 2007-10-03 Time: 16.30 PM

» Kimberley Diamond Co. losses more than double

Source: AFNS Australia’s Kimberley Diamond Co. reported a net loss of A$31.9 million (U.S.$26.6 million) for the year ending June 30, 2007, compared to a net loss of A$13.1 million ($10.9 million) the year before. The company produced 385,000 carats of diamonds from its Ellendale Mine in Western Australia and sold 369,800 carats, at an average value of U.S.$134 per carat. “Revenue was impacted by the plant expansion programs, particularly the delays experienced in the construction and commissioning of the upgrade of the Ellendale 9 East Plant,” the company said. “These delays limited throughput and resulted in significantly reduced carat production and sales.” U.K.-based Gem Diamonds has offered U.S.$263 million to buy out the company.

Date: 2007-10-02 Time: 09.15AM

» KP report on Zimbabwe diamond smuggling not complete

Source: AFNS A delegation from the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme has missed an August deadline to deliver a report on whether diamond smuggling is going on in Zimbabwe. The delegation is investigating alleged smuggling from two areas. One is the Chiadzwa diamond zone in the Marange district, where diamonds were found in late 2006, bringing in hordes of destitute, illegal diggers. The police are said to have arrested more than 20,000 of the unauthorized diggers. The government reserves for itself the right to mine diamonds through the state-owned Minerals Marketing Corporation of Zimbabwe (MMCZ), but many stones are thought to be smuggled out of the area regardless. The Kimberley Process team also visited the River Ranch Mine in Beitbridge, which is disputed between Bubye Minerals, which used to run the mine, and River Ranch Limited, which now controls it. Bubye Minerals’ owners and attorneys have charged that River Ranch Limited seized the property by force and that the company is controlled by cronies of dictatorial President Robert Mugabe. Bubye Minerals has also charged that River Ranch diamonds are being smuggled out of the country, triggering the Kimberley Process investigation. But Terrence Hussein, a lawyer for Bubye Minerals, says the Kimberley Process team has refused to meet with the company.

Date: 2007-10-01 Time: 07.32AM

» Belgium posts rises in August for all imports and exports

Source: AFNS Antwerp recorded a sharp rise in rough imports and exports in August and over the course of the first eight months of the year, while polished imports and exports also saw strong activity. Rough diamond exports increased by 143.9 percent in value terms compared with August 2006, to $806.1 million. In volume terms, rough diamond exports soared by186.7 percent to 10.1 million carats. Meanwhile, rough imports rose by 41.2 percent last month to $860.2 million. In volume terms, there was a 9 percent increase to 11 million carats. In the January-August period, rough diamond exports jumped by 25.9 percent to $7.64 billion, and 20.1 percent in volume terms to 97.3 million carats. Rough imports for the first eight months of the year rose by a more modest 13.6 percent to $6.77 billion and 3.7 percent to 89.3 million carats. As for polished diamonds, exports rose 64.5 percent in August to $480.7 million, and in volume terms jumped 26.1 percent to 404,976 carats. During the first eight months of 2007, polished exports rose 13.1 percent on the same period last year to $6.87 billion, and in volume terms rose 11.3 percent to 6.21 million carats. Polished imports jumped 22.6 percent in August on the same month last year to $708.3 million, and 18.4 percent to 797,653 carats. For the January-August period, polished imports increased 9 percent to 6.5 billion, and 5.4 percent to 6.54 million carats.

Date: 2007-09-30 Time: 07.30AM

» Antwerp organizers put finishing touches to conference

Source: AFNS The Antwerp World Diamond Centre (AWDC) is putting the finishing touches to the major international diamond conference it will stage October 15-16. The conference returns after a two-year hiatus in a revamped format based on the annual Davos World Economic Forum, and emphasizes the importance of Antwerp as the center of the global diamond industry as leaders of all sectors of the trade from across the world gather in the city. The conference title is ‘Producers in transition: the changing industry dynamic,’ and will focus on the shift of power in the diamond industry, and in particular the emerging strength of the producer countries and their determination to capture more of the “value chain.” This is being reflected in these countries’ demand that more diamonds be sorted and processed in the nation where they are mined, and concurrently the passing of legislation that will make this phenomenon a statutory obligation. Among the major personalities taking part in the conference will be Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, the president of Liberia and Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph E. Stiglitz. Guest speaker at the gala dinner on October 15 will be Sir Bob Geldof, businessman and former pop star. Geldof will join an illustrious group of individuals who have been invited to be guest speakers at the gala dinner of the Antwerp Diamond Conference. They include former President Bill Clinton, former U.S. Vice President Al Gore, Botswana’s President Festus Mogae and South African President Thabo Mbeki, who in 2004 used the occasion to announce the imminent launch his government’s beneficiation program. www.antwerpdiamondconference.be

Date: 2007-09-29 Time: 12.25 PM

» West African Diamonds gets good results in Sierra Leone, Guinea

Source: AFNS West African Diamonds (WAD) said that its wholly owned Pipe 3 project in Sierra Leone and its 53 square kilometer Bounoudou diamond mining license area in southeastern Guinea both seem to contain more diamonds than previously thought, including a possible kimberlite grade of 19 diamond carats per hundred tons (cpht) at the former site and a possible alluvial resource of 300,000 to 500,000 carats at the latter. “The latest results from Pipe 3 support the earlier findings that the ‘raw’ kimberlite probably contains about 19 cpht of high-quality diamonds,” Deputy Chairman James Campbell said. “At a value of over $200 per carat, this suggests a value per ton of ore of about $40. With the significant increase in the in-situ revenue, WAD will immediately commence work on a scoping study to assess the economic viability of this increasingly attractive diamond resource.” The company has done additional work on a sample of 20,000 tons of kimberlite that was mined at Pipe 3 between June 2004 and October 2005. The average value of the 5,670 diamonds that had already been found, which weigh a total of 1,075.49 carats, has been revised upward to $228 per carat. Another 387 diamonds weighing a total of 43.65 carats have been found as well, causing the raw grade of the sample to be revised upward to 7.8 cpht. In addition, the company has processed 387 tons of stockpiled untreated kimberlite, producing 618 diamonds weighing 78.8 carats. Regarding the Guinea license area, the company said that in addition to the “Droujba” kimberlites discovered in the 1960s, small kimberlite pipes, dykes and alluvial deposits may be discovered there, the latter including the 300,000 to 500,000 carat deposit along the River Somolo. The alluvial deposits are found along both the small tributaries and the larger rivers, the company said. “Although the shallower and less water-logged of these deposits have been extensively mined, initially by formal mining and latterly by artisinal digging, it is quite likely that there are exploitable sections remaining. Along the larger streams where the deeper gravels are water-logged there remains potential for significant deposits.”

Date: 2007-09-28 Time: 09.56 AM

» Japan reports first ever rough diamond discovery

Source: AFNS A research team from Nagoya University has reported what evidently is the first ever natural diamond to be discovered in Japan. It was found in volcanic rock in Ehime Prefecture by, it was announced Monday. The team refused to disclose its exact location, but it reportedly in the vicinity of the city of Shikokuchuo. Reporting the finding at a meeting of the Geological Society of Japan in Sapporo, a research team representative noted that the discovery flies in the face of established theory, which states that countries like Japan, with active geological movements, do not produce diamonds in a natural environment. The diamond is not about to be cut and placed in jewelry just yet. It evidently is only about one part of a thousandth of a millimeter, and cannot even be observed even using a microscope. It was detected when the researchers radiated a laser beam on a volcanic rock extracted at the site, and it detected a wavelength that is characteristic of a diamond.

Date: 2007-09-27 Time: 13.10 PM

» Namibia expects 14 new polishing plants to be set up

Source: AFNS Namibian Diamond Commissioner Kennedy Hamutenya has said that his government has approved 20 diamond polishing plant licenses. Of this number, six plants are currently functioning. "Other factories are under construction and will be opening [in the coming few months]," Hamutenya told the New Era daily newspaper. One of the plants will be established by Dali Diamond, an Antwerp-based Diamond Trading Company sightholder, which will open its facility in Windhoek, the capital of Namibia, toward the end of the year. Dali’s plant is being built at a cost of $2.7 million, and will polish and market branded Namibian-mined diamonds. It is expected to train and employ 150 local residents by next year and double that when it reaches full strength.

Date: 2007-09-26 Time: 09.15AM

» Tawana announces diamond find near Kimberley, South Africa

Source: AFNS Diamond exploration firm Tawana Resources said that it found “larger-than-expected diamonds” during the first week of processing an initial bulk sample at the Riverton Mine in the Kimberley district of South Africa. The company’s dense media separation plant produced 18 diamonds weighing a total of 9.07 carats between August 23 and September 3, including a 3.12 carat pale yellow diamond, a 1.31 carat stone and a 1.08 carat stone. The average size of the diamonds is 0.5 carats, “an unusually large average size for diamonds from a kimberlite,” the company said. The Riverton Mine, which is located 25 kilometers north of the town of Kimberley, is a joint venture between Tawana Resources, an Australian company withs hares traded on the Australian Stock Exchange, and Taormina Mining (Pty) Limited, an unlisted South African company. The 4 hectare kimberlite pipe is said to have produced good-quality diamonds when it was mined by small scale diggers during the 1990s.

Date: 2007-09-25 Time: 07.32AM

» Vaaldiam Resources starts diamond mining in Brazil

Source: AFNS Vaaldiam Resources Ltd. said it started commercial scale diamond production at its wholly owned Duas Barras mine in Brazil on September 1, although the treatment plant has been operational since early May. This makes the company one of only two publicly traded diamond producers in South America, the firm said; its shares are traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange. To date, 20,178 diamonds with a total weight of 5,054.65 carats have been recovered from 21,807 cubic meters of gravel, an average size of approximately 0.25 carats per stone, Vaaldiam said. The average grade is 0.23 carats per cubic meter, 44 percent higher than expected. Approximately 5.28 kilograms of byproduct gold has also been recovered, the company said. The ten largest diamonds found at Duas Barras weigh 8.25, 7.64, 6.25, 4.46, 4.07, 3.88, 3.81, 3.66, 3.43 and 3.29, carats. Twenty-nine percent of all the stones found (by weight) are larger than 0.5 carats, and 11 percent are larger than 1 carat. Duas Barras is located in the State of Minas Gerais, Brazil. The deposit contains an “indicated resource” estimated at 295,000 carats of diamonds and 335 kg of gold, plus an additional “inferred resource” of 137,000 carats of diamonds and 156 kg of gold. According to the company, an independent valuation of 169.15 carats of diamonds found during bulk sampling indicated an average value of $197 per carat.

Date: 2007-09-24 Time: 07.30AM

» Antwerp Diamond Museum launches Bling exhibit

Source: AFNS The Antwerp Diamond Museum will have an extra special sparkle for the next three months as it stages an exhibition called Bling Bling, the crown jewels of hip-hop. A group of 22 Belgian youngsters of different ages and from different cultures and backgrounds helped create the exhibition, which opens to the public on September 15 and runs through to the end of the year. The exhibition is divided into three parts, with the first looking at the origin of bling bling, and how bling met hip hop in the late 1970s in New York where it was initially a black, urban phenomenon, explains Micheline Van Branden. The first section also shows the development of bling in the past 30 years from its initial heavy use of gold worn by figures such as Mr T from the television series The A-Team through to the extensive use of platinum today. The second part of the display looks at designers of bling, while the third section illustrates the heavy use of diamonds on items such as cameras, a bicycle, turntables and loudspeakers. “The exhibition is targeted at young people,” explained Van Branden. It is important to realize that although bling is linked with hip hop, one can see it in a wider context that mankind has always had a fascination with shiny and pretty things. Thus, you can link it to royalty, the Indian maharajahs and the great operatic divas.

Date: 2007-09-23 Time: 12.25 PM

» Rising value of Canadian dollar impacts Aber’s profits

Source: AFNS The Aber Diamond Corp., 40 percent owner of the Diavik diamond mine and owner of high-end jeweler Harry Winston, has reported that the rising value of the Canadian dollar against its U.S. counterpart erased the benefit of an increase in sales during the second quarter of 2007 and led to a 41 percent fall in profit. According to Aber, net income fell to $20.1 million during he three months ended July 31, from $34.3 million, a year earlier. This was despite a 24 percent increase in sales to $173.3 million. “The company is continually subject to foreign exchange fluctuations, particularly as the Canadian dollar moves against the U.S. dollar,” Aber said in statement. According to Aber, it had a foreign-exchange loss of $11.8 million during the second quarter, compared with a $2.6 million gain a year earlier. The Canadian dollar rose to an average Can. $1.07 against the U.S. dollar during the period, from an average of Can. $1.12 during the same quarter in 2006. Costs associated with mining, sorting and retailing stood at $153 million in the six months ended July 31, compared with $132.3 million a year earlier, Aber reported. Harry Winston's sales rose to $68.2 million from $48.4 million.

Date: 2007-09-22 Time: 09.56 AM

» Liberia ships first diamonds since UN sanctions lifted

Source: AFNS Liberia has made its first legitimate shipment of diamonds since the lifting of U.N. sanctions, the government confirmed in Monorovia. The Liberian government received a royalty of about $6,000 from the shipment. According to government spokesman Laurence Bropleh , the shipment was valued at about $222,000. He did not name the company exporting goods, nor their final destination. The United Nations Security Council removed on diamonds exports from Liberia sanctions in April, citing the country’s efforts in provide Kimberley Process controls . The sanctions had first been imposed in May 2001, and, as a result, the Liberian government called for a moratorium on all diamond mining in the country. Liberia submitted its application in March to join the Kimberley Process

Date: 2007-09-21 Time: 12.25 PM

» New Chairman Installed at International Diamond Council

Source: AFNS A new chairman has taken the helm at the International Diamond Council (IDC), which is the consultative body created in 1975 by the World Federation of Diamond Bourses (WFDB) and the International Diamond Manufacturers Association (IDMA) to regulate diamond grading standards, rules, working methods and nomenclature. He is Stéphane Fischler, and he succeeds Edward Asscher, who has served as chairman of IDC since 1990. The decision to appoint Fischler was endorsed by the WFDB and IDMA leadership, when they met at the Presidents' Meeting in Amsterdam in June. The new IDC chairman has a long record of public service in the diamond industry. Fischler is currently Secretary General and Treasurer of IDMA, and is also Vice President of the Antwerp World Diamond Centre (AWDC) and President of the European Council of Diamond Manufacturers. One of his primary goals as IDC chairman, Fischler stated, is achieving general harmonization of diamond grading standards. Toward that end, he intends working in close cooperation with CIBJO, the World Jewellery Confederation. "CIBJO's established diamond nomenclature is very similar to that of IDC and I am sure that in a relatively brief time we can come to complete understanding. We share CIBJO's vision, which is a single international standard for polished diamond grading. We appreciate that this cannot be achieved overnight, but that is what we are working toward," Fischler said Cooperation among the industry organizations could serve other goals as well, Fischler said. "One of the other things we would like to achieve is a minimum ISO certification standard for procedures at [gemological] laboratories. All of the labs that subscribe to IDC rules already are ISO certified, as are a number of the CIBJO affiliated labs, and we'd like to see more labs that operate internationally going in the same direction. The fact that labs operate according to strict and accepted international standards enhance the consumer’s confidence in their ability of gem labs to render reliable and consistent grading services," he said. In the short term, Fischler said, an overriding concern for IDC is to resolve the issue of nomenclature for synthetic diamonds. “We hope that the synthetic diamond producers agree to openly describe their products as ‘synthetic,’ ‘man-made’ or ‘laboratory-grown,’ which clearly will differentiate them from natural diamonds. It is a compromise that we believe other industry organizations will agree to," he stated. Looking back his years as IDC chairman, Amsterdam-based Edward Asscher said that recent development have made the organization more relevant than ever before. "We have seen an onslaught of issues coming our way in recent years, and no one less important than the nomenclature for synthetic diamonds. I am glad to say that IDC, with the unwavering support of its two parents, WFDB and IDMA, has taken a consistent and unequivocal position that synthetics cannot be called just 'diamonds,' but must, without exception, always be preceded by one of the descriptive adjectives: ‘synthetic,’ ‘man-made’ or ‘laboratory-grown.’” On the other hand, Asscher conceded that IDC's earlier acceptance of the SI-3 clarity diamond grade would most probably need to be reversed. "I personally believe that the IDC's acceptance of the SI-3 clarity grade was ‘still born.’ But IDC must discuss this issue with its members, and of course with other international bodies, such as CIBJO. I am sure IDC will resolve this issue satisfactorily," he stated.

Date: 2007-09-20 Time: 09.56 AM

» AWDC supporting “Day of Diversity’ in Antwerp

Source: AFNS The Antwerp Diamond Giants, the city of Antwerp’s professional basketball team, the Antwerp World Diamond Centre (AWDC) and Antwerp's youth sports organizer Pieter Loridon are joining hands to organize a “Day of Diversity," to be held September 23 at the Meir pedestrian thoroughfare in city center. The aim the event is to encourage interaction between Antwerp’s various ethnic, religious and cultural groups. For the Day of Diversity no fewer than 10 basketball courts will be set up temporarily along the Meir, and a basket ball dunk contest and "Basket for Kids” tournament will be held. The crowd will also be entertained by DJ Delafino, as well as a number of other attractions, including free hair cuts. In the evening, the final game of the of the Basket for Kids tournament will be played in the city's Lotto Arena, followed by a game between the Antwerp Giants and the Turkish team Pinar Karsiyaka Sport, the organizers feel, is a powerful unifier, not only among people, but also among the various groups and communities in society. Also involved in the organization of this event are representatives of Antwerp’s Indian, Jewish, Turkish, Moroccan, Polish and African communities in Antwerp, as well as officials from the diamond sector, the municipality and the province.

Date: 2007-09-19 Time: 12.25 PM

» European Commission to try reinstate ban on Alrosa sales to De Beers

Source: AFNS A spokesman for the European Commission said it would appeal a court ruling overturning its ban on all rough diamond sales from the Russian diamond mining monopoly Alrosa to De Beers after the end of 2008. In July, the European Court of First Instance said the European Commission had gone too far in its antitrust ruling, which was reached with De Beers’ consent. Alrosa complained that it had not been consulted. The European Commission will file its appeal with the European Court of Justice, the highest court in the European Union, by end of September. A court date will be set at that point.

Date: 2007-09-18 Time: 09.56 AM

» U.S. runner almost loses brooch, but still wins

Source: AFNS U.S. sprinter Sanya Richards almost lost a $20,000 diamond brooch given her by the top executive of a sponsor during a 200-meter heat at the World Athletics Championships in Osaka, Japan in late August. The brooch came off as she was running. A dozen spectators ran down onto the track to recover it for her. Richards had been wearing the brooch during competitions for good luck, but said she won’t do it any longer. She won her heat, by the way

Date: 2007-09-17 Time: 07.32AM

» Analyst sees bright future for ‘junior’ diamond mining firms

Source: AFNS Smaller diamond mining companies, of which more than 100 are listed on international stock exchanges, may have the flexibility to mine alluvial and other deposits. However, fewer than 20 of these companies actually produce significant quantities of diamonds, the rest being engaged in prospecting in Botswana, Angola, the Democratic Republic of Congo and elsewhere, according to Des Kilalea, a London-based analyst for RBC Capital Markets, who was speaking at a recent symposium sponsored by the Geological Society of South Africa. There are also dozens of privately held diamond mining firms, such as Chris Potgieter’s Sonop Diamond Mining, which specializes in alluvial sites in South Africa and produces approximately 93,000 carats a year. This compares to the 116,200 carats that publicly traded South African diamond mining firm Trans Hex said it produced in its last fiscal year. Diamondcorp has an option to buy Sonop for $45 million in cash, plus 7.5 million shares of Diamondcorp stock. Kilalea pointed out that smaller mining firms have lower operating expenses while often having the benefit of experienced managers who previously worked for larger mining firms. They can also partner with big mining firms, as Petra has done with BHP Billiton in Angola. However, this may trap the smaller firms into paying the higher capital costs the bigger firms are used to, and in addition the smaller companies may begin turning to the larger ones for money as it becomes harder to raise money on risk-averse capital markets. The lure of diamond mining is in the large returns on such mines as Jwaneng in Botswana, which is owned by the 50-50 joint venture between De Beers and the Botswanan government, Debswana, and De Beers’ wholly owned South African mine, Venetia. Kilalea put the profit margins on these mines at 88 and 82 percent, respectively.

Date: 2007-09-16 Time: 07.30AM

» U.S. consumer confidence retreats in August

Source: AFNS The U.S. based Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index, which had surged in July, gave back all of the gain in August. The Index now stands at 105.0 (1985=100), down from 111.9 in July. The Present Situation Index decreased to 130.3 from 138.3 in July. The Expectations Index declined to 88.2 from 94.4. The Consumer Confidence Survey is based on a representative sample of 5,000 U.S. households in the United States. The cutoff date for August's preliminary results was August 22. Says Lynn Franco, director of The Conference Board Consumer Research Center: "A softening in business conditions and labor market conditions has curbed consumers' confidence this month. In addition, the volatility in financial markets and continued sub-prime housing woes may have played a role in dampening consumers' spirits. But, despite less favorable conditions and in spite of all the recent turmoil, consumers still remain confident. And, current Index levels suggest further economic growth in the months ahead." Consumers' assessment of present-day conditions in August was less upbeat than in July. Those claiming conditions are "good" decreased to 26.4 percent from 28.3 percent, while those saying conditions are "bad" increased to 16.3 percent from 14.5 percent. Consumers were also less positive in their appraisal of the labor market. Those saying jobs are "hard to get" increased to 19.7 percent from 18.7 percent. Those claiming jobs are "plentiful" decreased to 27.5 percent from 30.0 percent in July. Consumers, once again, turned cautious in their short-term outlook. Those expecting business conditions to worsen in the next six months rose to 10.6 percent from 8.2 percent, while those anticipating business conditions to improve was virtually unchanged at 15.0 percent. The outlook for the labor market was also less favorable. The percent of consumers expecting more jobs in the months ahead declined to 13.0 percent from 13.8, while those anticipating fewer jobs increased to 15.3 percent from 14.9 percent. The proportion of consumers expecting their incomes to increase in the months ahead was virtually unchanged at 19.1 percent.

Date: 2007-09-15 Time: 12.25 PM

» Lazare Kaplan loses $3 million in fiscal 2007

Source: AFNS Lazare Kaplan International Inc. reported a net loss of $3 million on sales of $434.4 million for the year ending May 31, 2007, compared to a net profit of $1.5 million on sales of $528 million the year before. This represented a 17.7 percent decline in sales, which the company attributed mainly to the transfer of some of its rough trading operations to a separately operated joint venture, accounted for by the equity method. The transfer took place late in 2006. The New York City-based, publicly traded diamond company recorded net income of $200,000 on net sales of $96.9 million for the quarter ending May 31, 2007, compared to net income of $500,000 on sales of $135 million in the corresponding period of 2006. This represented a sales decline of 28.2 percent for the quarter, which the company said was also the result of the joint venture taking over the rough trading operations.

Date: 2007-09-14 Time: 09.56 AM

» Russian officials call for more Alrosa rough for domestic polishers

Source: AFNS Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov and Smolensk Region Governor Victor Maslov said that Alrosa, the Russian diamond monopoly, should provide more rough diamonds to the Russian diamond polishing industry. Fradkov said the government should take steps to bolster Alrosa as it renegotiates its sales agreements with De Beers. Until recently, Alrosa was set to end all sales to De Beers after the end of 2008, due to a European Commission antitrust ruling, but the Russian company recently succeeded in having this ruling overturned on appeal. Maslov said that the Russian diamond polishing industry has enough capacity to process more rough if it is made available. He said polishing plants in his region are getting only slightly more rough diamonds in recent years, with Alrosa supplying the bulk and minor amounts coming in from the United Kingdom and South Africa.

Date: 2007-09-13 Time: 16.30 PM

» India International Jewellery Show draws 25,000 preregistered visitors

Source: AFNS The India International Jewellery Show, which opened at the end of August, was expected to draw some 25,000 visitors to Mumbai, with a record 17,000 people having preregistered for the event. Sanjay Kothari, chairman of the Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council, announced that a National Council for Gems & Jewellery would be formed soon. He said that Indian gem and jewelry exports rose 25 percent in the past six months, and that annual growth is expected to total 15 percent. Addressing Indian Minister of Industries Ashwani Kumar, he called on the government to stop imposing income tax on diamond and jewelry companies and instead to impose a tax that would assume a 3 percent rate of profit for all companies. Kumar said that India’s gem and jewelry industry should concentrate on developing India’s brand on the world market, as well as on growing the domestic diamond and jewelry market. Diamonds, he pointed out, are increasingly popular with the growing Indian middle class. Among other attendees at the show were Thai Minister of Commerce Krikkrai Jirapaet, who was heading a national pavilion with 18 companies in 24 booths, and the Shanghai municipality’s Deputy General Secretary, Fan Xiping, who headed the Chinese delegation.

Date: 2007-09-12 Time: 09.10 AM

» Bond agency gives Botswana thumbs up

Source: AFNS Moody’s bond agency raised its outlook on Botswana from positive to stable, but said there was some concern over the possibility that diamond production, on which the country is heavily dependent, would drop off. Nevertheless, the bond agency had positive words for the government’s fiscal restraint and efforts to diversify the economy into tourism and other industries. Diamonds account for one-half of the government’s budget and one-third of the country’s GDP. Most of Botswana’s diamonds are produced by Debswana, the 50-50 joint venture between De Beers and the country’s government. Botswana is the world’s leading rough diamond producer by value, being responsible for about 30 percent of world supply.

Date: 2007-09-11 Time: 08.45 AM

» De Beers, Alrosa to cooperate on exploration

Source: AFNS De Beers and the Russian government-controlled diamond mining monopoly Alrosa are going ahead with plans to cooperate on diamond exploration in Russia and Africa. The two companies signed a memorandum of understanding to that effect in September 2006, and the deal was further cemented when Russian President Vladimir Putin visited South Africa in July. Some of the original impetus for the deal came from the European Commission’s antitrust ruling that was to have forbidden Alrosa to sell rough diamonds to De Beers after the end of 2008. That ruling has now been overturned on appeal by Alrosa. In a separate development, De Beers Diamond Jewelers, the company’s retail diamond jewelry joint venture with Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton, will open its first outlet in Moscow later this year. This is one of 14 new outlets the retail diamond jeweler will open worldwide by the end of the year, which will double the size of the chain. De Beers Diamond Jewelers’ sales shot up 39 percent in the first half of 2007.

Date: 2007-09-10 Time: 13.11 PM

» Tight supplies, rising prices and demand seen in diamond markets

Source: AFNS Diamond prices have risen in 2007 after a period of stagnation, driven by growing demand among the new middle classes in India and China and tight rough supplies. De Beers said diamond prices recovered all the ground they had lost last year by the second quarter of this year, while its affiliate Anglo American Corp. expected world demand to rise 5 percent for the year. Prices for 5 carat stones rose 8.4 percent in the first half of the year, compared to a 2.1 percent rise in the first half of 2006, according to Canada’s National Financial Bank. Diamond stockpiles have been depleted 75 percent since 2000, the Canadian bank said. Publicly traded diamond mining firms Aber (which has a market value of $2.3 billion and is changing its name to Harry Winston, after its wholly owned jewelry subsidiary), Shore Gold and Trans Hex are expected to see their stock prices rebound after losing up to 50 percent of their value last year. Trans Hex was back in the black in the half-year that ended at the end of March, recording net income of 38.95 million rand ($5.4 million), whereas in the same period a year before it lost 21.2 million rand. The company said it had recovered from rains that depressed production. Evy Hambro, managing director of BlackRock’s World Mining Fund in London, said he saw a positive outlook for the diamond market. The fund holds the largest stake in Gem Diamonds and a stake in Aber.

Date: 2007-09-09 Time: 09.00 AM

» Preparations underway for 2007 Antwerp Diamond Conference

Source: AFNS Preparations in the Belgian diamond center are moving into high gear for the 2007 Antwerp Diamond Conference, which will be held on October 15 and 16 in the Elisabethzaal of the Flanders Congress & Concert Center, on the Koningin Astridplein adjacent to the city’s famous diamond district. The conference is being organized by the Antwerp World Diamond Centre (AWDC). This year’s conference, which many consider to the most important event of its type in the diamond industry, is being held after a two-year hiatus, and for the first-time ever the main conference will be complemented by a number of satellite seminars. The theme of the main conference is “Producers in Transition: The Changing Industry Dynamic.” It will consider the shift of power in the diamond industry, and in particular the emerging strength of the producer countries and their determination to capture more of the “value chain.” Among the speakers will be South Africa’s Deputy President Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, who is a a key architect of her government’s beneficiation program. Another speaker is the Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph E. Stiglitz, former chief economist at the World Bank and a member of the U.S. Council of Economic Advisers from 1993 to 1997. His many books on how globalization changes the rules and what it might mean for the future are considered some of the most influential work on the subject. Addressing the diamond conference will be a group senior mining executives, among them Gareth Penny, the managing director of the De Beers, and Sergey Vibornov, president of Alrosa, who will speak on Russia’s diamond strategy. Of the more important and interesting figures to make their first appearance at an Antwerp Diamond Conference will be Lazarus Zim, chairman of Afripalm Resources, one of South Africa’s most important black empowerment companies. Today he also serves as chairman of the Trans Hex diamond company. In 2005 he was named the African business executive of the year. The guest speaker at the traditional gala dinner of the Antwerp Diamond Conference, which will take place on October 15, is Sir Bob Geldof, an Irish pop star who in 1985 was the man behind the Live Aid concert, organized to alleviate a famine that was plaguing Ethiopia. In November 2004 he won the Nobel Man of Peace Award. Among the events accompanying the Antwerp Diamond Conference will be The Opening Night on Sunday, October 14, organized by Alrosa, the Russian diamond company; a presentation on the South African diamond industry on Tuesday, October 16, and a presentation of the Shanghai diamond center on Wednesday, October 17. ANTWERP DIAMOND CONFERENCE 2007 Date: October 15-16, 2006 Conference Venue: Elisabethzaal, Flanders Congress & Concert Center, Koningin Astridplein 26, Antwerp Gala Dinner Venue: Waagnatie, Rijnkaai 150, Antwerp Registration: Registration is possible via a dedicated website: www.antwerpdiamondconference.be

Date: 2007-09-08 Time: 16.30 PM

» Rosy Blue CEO says company will open polishing plant in Botswana

Source: AFNS Dilip Mehta, CEO of the Belgian-Indian diamond manufacturing giant Rosy Blue, said during a recent visit to Botswana that his company is interested in opening a diamond polishing plant there immediately. The plant could employ up to 800 workers, he said. Mehta also said that his company would like to get rough stones directly from the southern African nation. Mehta said that Botswanan President Festus Mogae should develop his country’s diamond polishing and jewelry manufacturing industry. During his trip, the diamantaire met with the country’s Minister of Minerals, Energy and Water Resources, Ponatshego Kedikilwe. Mehta’s relative Sudir Mehta, who chairs the coal producer Torrent Power Ltd., accompanied the diamantaire on the trip. He said his company would like to mine coal in Botswana and export it to India, and is willing to invest $500 million in a new mine in the African nation.

Date: 2007-09-07 Time: 10.10 PM

» BHP Billiton diamond revenues down 29 percent in fiscal 2007

Source: AFNS BHP Billiton reported diamond revenues of $893 million in its fiscal year 2007, which ended June 30. This was a 29.3 percent decrease from $1.263 billion the prior year. Underlying diamond earnings before interest and tax fell 24.3 percent to $261 million, compared to $345 million the prior year. “We experienced a decrease in diamond sales for the year as a result of inventory sales in the prior year,” the company said. It also cited “higher unit costs reflecting variations in the mix of ore processed,” although “this was partially offset by higher value per carat diamonds.” The mining corporation owns 80 percent of the Ekati Mine in Canada’s Northwest Territories and 80 percent of the Koala underground mine in Canada, where diamond production is expected to begin by the end of this year. The company reported that it has increased exploration activity on diamond targets in Angola and the Democratic Republic of Congo, which accounted for most of a $16 million increase in overall exploration costs.

Date: 2007-09-06 Time: 08.45 AM

» De Beers Canada to provide diamonds to local polishing firms

Source: AFNS De Beers Canada said it will make available 10 percent by value of the rough diamonds it produces in the future from the Gahcho Kué Project for sale to diamond manufacturers who have been approved by the government of the Northwest Territories and have successfully fulfilled the Diamond Trading Company’s client selection criteria. The company agreed to this provision in talks with the territorial government. The deal “is consistent with the agreement announced regarding Snap Lake diamonds earlier this year,” Jim Gowans, President and CEO of De Beers Canada, said. Snap Lake is another of the company’s diamond mining projects in the Northwest Territories. De Beers will have a local sorting facility in Yellowknife, employing local residents, where its Snap Lake and Gahcho Kué diamonds will be separately valued for royalty purposes, in accordance with Canadian mining regulations. There are three diamond polishing companies in Yellowknife, and one, Arslanian Cutting Works, has already applied to receive Gahcho Kué diamonds. This could boost the plant’s production from the current level of 3,500 carats a month, said Director of Operations Bob Bies. The other two diamond polishing companies in the town are Laurelton Diamonds, which is owned by the jewelry house Tiffany & Co., and Polar Bear Diamond Factory. The Gahcho Kué Project is located about 300 km northeast of the territorial capital Yellowknife, and is currently undergoing an environmental impact review process. It is expected to produce 3 million carats of diamonds a year for 15 years, at an average value of $67 per carat. The mine is a joint venture between De Beers Canada and Mountain Province Diamonds.

Date: 2007-09-05 Time: 13.11 PM

» Experts skeptical about reports about reports 7,000-carat rough diamond

Source: AFNS Experts have voiced skepticism whether a 7,000-carat rough stone discovered in South Africa’s North West Province is in fact a diamonds, as claimed by Brett Jolly, a spokesman for building corporation, Two Point Five Construction, who says he is speaking on behalf of the mining, which at this stage wishes to remain anonymous. Little is known about the stone, which if it is found to be genuine would be more than twice the size of the unpolished Cullinan Diamonds, which to date is the largest ever recorded diamond. A low quality of cellphone photograph of the stone is the only physical evidence of the stone to have been released. The alleged diamond, which is said to be about the size of a coconut, has been transported under tight security to Johannesburg and deposited in a bank vault. There it will remain until it undergoes proper analysis. If the stone is indeed a genuine diamond, the industry should not be kept waiting for long. South African law requires that it be examined by the South African Diamond Board, which registers all diamonds, in order that its authenticity be confirmed and, for Kimberley Process purposes, verifies that it was discovered at a licensed diamond mining site. Tom Tweedy, a De Beers spokesman, said that if the find is genuine it would be "the stone of the century," but, he added, "I have my doubts that it is real." The photographs suggest that it is light green in color, which makes the likelihood of it actually being a diamond even less likely. Ernest Blom, president of the World Federation of Diamond Bourses, was also careful. "It would be an extremely rare find,” he told the press. “It would almost be like finding another Rembrandt.” Before it was cut, the Cullinan Diamond, also known as the Star of Africa, was 3,107 carats. It can now be found in the Tower of London, as part of the British Crown Jewels.

Date: 2007-09-04 Time: 17.19 PM

» South Africa parliament approves rough export levy

Source: AFNS South Africa’s national assembly in Cape Town has approved a government-proposed bill that reduces a rough diamond export levy from 15 percent to 5 percent, but significantly decreases the number of exemptions. The bill, which replaces provisions from the Diamonds Act of 1986, is considered by the South African government to be more efficient. “No reason exists to force diamonds onto the local market beyond local capacity,” said Finance Minister Trevor Manuel, when he introduced the bill. He noted that the proposed relief measures in the new law ensured that local supply of rough diamonds would be commensurate with local demand. . Manuel said the export levy could be avoided in full if rough diamond producers meet their obligations to supply local beneficiaries. "Hence, the levy effectively acts as a penalty where a producer fails to meet these local supply requirements," he said.

Date: 2007-09-03 Time: 10.23 AM

» Gem Diamonds acquisition of Kimberley Diamond gets green light

Source: AFNS Australia’s Kimberley Diamond Co. said late in August that the local affiliate of U.K. mining company Gem Diamonds has received approval from the Australian Foreign Investment Review Board to acquire all Kimberley Diamond shares. Kimberley Diamond Co. Chairman Miles Kennedy said that the company will decide whether to accept the takeover offer by mid-November. Ninety percent of Kimberley Diamond Co. shareholders would have to consent. In July, Gem Diamonds said it had offered A$300 million (U.S.$264 million) in cash and stock for Kimberley Diamond, owner of the Ellendale Mine in Western Australia. As part of the deal, Gem Diamonds is providing Kimberley Diamond with a short-term loan of A$10 million (U.S.$8.8 million). Gem Diamonds is a diamond mining company that owns one producing kimberlite mine—the Letseng Mine in Lesotho—and one producing alluvial mine, the Cempaka Mine in Indonesia. The company also has a kimberlite development project in Botswana, four development projects in the Democratic Republic of Congo (Congo-Kinshasa), one in the Central African Republic and an option to develop the Chiri kimberlite concession in Angola.

Date: 2007-09-02 Time: 15.01 PM

» Turkey signs onto the Kimberley Process

Source: AFNS Turkey has signed onto the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme, which was established to prevent the trade in diamonds mined in war zones. The chairman of the Istanbul Gold Exchange, Osman Sarac, said his group will oversee the import and export of rough diamonds to ensure compliance with the Kimberley Process.

Date: 2007-09-01 Time: 07.30AM

» Second Angolan diamond cutting factory scheduled for 2008

Source: AFNS A second diamond cutting and polishing factory is expected to go into operation in Angola 2008, according to the newspaper Jornal de Angola. Reportedly, it will be established in the province of Lunda Sul. Quoting the director of planning and investment of Endiama, the national diamond mining company, Alberto Fançony, the newspaper reported that the decision to build the factory was due to an increase in the number of diamonds produced in the country. "Endiama is working so that the factory can be built in Lunda-Sul and that by the end of the year it can be in operation," Fançony said. He added that the factory would have a foreign investor and Angolan partners. Angola Polishing Diamond,the country’s first diamond cutting factory opened in 2005, with an estimated initial investment of $10 million, and a capacity to cut diamonds worth $20 million per month. It is owned by the locally-based Sodiam company, Lev Leviev’s LLD Diamonds and an Angolan consortium. In 2007 Endiama has forecast revenues of $1.2 billion from 9.41 million carats of diamonds.

Date: 2007-08-31 Time: 10.00 AM

» Debswana diamond production totals 260 million carats

Source: AFNS Debswana, the 50-50 joint venture between De Beers and the Botswanan government, has produced 260 million carats of rough diamonds since the Jwaneng Mine opened in 1982, and is now running at more than 30 million carats a year, Managing Director Blackie Marole said. It was Jwaneng that moved Botswana into the front ranks of diamond producing nations, even though diamond mining had been going on in the former British colony since the early 1970s, he said. Marole was speaking at a ceremony to honor 64 diamond miners who have put in a quarter century each working for the company. The miners were each given a bonus of 10,000 pula ($1,600), while their spouses were awarded one-tenth that much. Jwaneng is one of four giant diamond mines that Debswana operates. Marole said the company is at work on new projects that will require huge amounts of capital investment. Botswana is the leading producer of rough diamonds in value terms, contributing about 30 percent of world supply.

Date: 2007-08-30 Time: 09.15AM

» Diamond-studded lederhosen sell for $135,000

Source: AFNS A company in Austria has reported what it claims to be the most expensive sale ever of a pair of lederhosen, the traditional knee length leather trousers that are popular mainly in Germany and Austria. Studded with diamonds, the trousers reportedly sold for a cool $135,000. According to the trouser’s designer, Christian Wohlmuther, the lederhosen were fashioned from the leather of a wild red deer and decorated with 166 diamonds set in gold. They were bought by a German national who lives in Dubai. Lederhosen are normally fashioned from the skin of elk, goats or pig and sometimes areembroidered with monograms and hunting designs.

Date: 2007-08-29 Time: 07.32AM

» Belgium’s rough diamond trade picks up strongly in July

Source: AFNS Antwerp’s rough diamond trade picked up noticeably in July, with significant increases reported for both the import and export of uncut diamonds. According to data provided by the Diamond Office at the Antwerp World Diamond Centre (AWDC), rough diamond exports increased by 22.2 percent in terms of value, when compared to July 2006, to stand at $1.16 billion. In terms of volume the increase was 32.7 percent, with 16.0 million carats of rough diamond exported. Rough diamond imports increased at a somewhat similar pace, with $882.0 million imported, 22.6 percent more than July 2006. By volume a 23.5 percent increase was reported, with 11.9 million carats arriving in Antwerp over the course of the month. Compared top the same period a year earlier, over the first seven months of 2007 Belgium’s rough diamond exports increased by 19.1 percent in U.S. dollar terms and 12.5 percent in carats. Rough imports rose by a more modest 10.5 percent in U.S. dollars and 3.0 percent in carats. The polished diamond trade was also brisk in July, with exports equaling $1.11 billion, 18.2 percent more than the $936.2 million reported in July 2006. 1.04 million carats of polished diamonds were exported in July, 26.2 percent more than during the corresponding month a year before. Polished imports in terms of value rose by 20.5 percent to close out the month at $788.3 million, while by volume 744,062 carats were imported, 11.3 percent more than in July 2006. During the first seven months of 2007, polished diamond exports stood at $6.39 billion, 10.5 percent more than during the same period a year earlier, and in carat terms they increased by 10.4 percent. Polished diamond imports rose by 7.6 percent to $5.78 billion, with the volume of rough imports up 3.9 billion.

Date: 2007-08-28 Time: 07.30AM

» De Beers’ net earnings down one-third

Source: AFNS De Beers’ net earnings were $350 million in the first six months of 2007, down nearly one-third from $520 million in the corresponding period of 2006, the company announced. However, “underlying earnings” were $324 million, up 5.2 percent from $308 million last year, “largely due to the favorable impact of a reduction in net finance charges,” the company said. Diamond production increased 2 percent to 25.3 million carats from 24.7 million carats in the corresponding period last year, but sales were down 7 percent to $3.402 billion, compared to $3.66 billion last year. Diamond Trading Company diamond sales totaled $2.987 billion, down 8.1 percent from $3.252 billion last year. Non-DTC diamond sales totaled $224 million, up 19.1 percent from $188 million. Cash available from operating activities increased 48 percent to $522 million, mainly due to favorable movements of working capital. De Beers said that during the first half of 2007 it was engaged in “refocusing of exploration activities, a strategic review of existing mining assets, continued investment in a $2 billion new mine building program, and the establishment of new sales and marketing operations in southern Africa.” The company “significantly stepped up exploration” in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (Congo-Kinshasa). In Angola, where the firm has ground holdings totaling approximately 12,000 square km, it has constructed a new bulk sampling plant in Lucapa and a macro-diamond laboratory in Luanda. In Botswana, the company’s Wati joint venture with African Diamonds is preparing to submit a mining license application for the AK6 kimberlite project in Orapa Province. De Beers Canada’s Gahcho Kué project, a joint venture with Mountain Province in the Northwest Territories, will complete a further drilling program this summer to get 100 carats for testing. Meanwhile, construction of the Snap Lake mine in the Northwest Territories is nearing completion, and production is expected to begin at the end of the third quarter. At the Victor Project in northern Ontario, construction is on target for an accelerated start-up date at the end of the second quarter of 2008. Following the award of the mining license for the Voorspoed mine in South Africa in the third quarter of 2006, construction began at the end of 2006 and is expected to be complete next June, with full commissioning at the end of June 2009. In June, De Beers’ newest marine diamond mining vessel, Peace in Africa, commenced operations off the western coast of South Africa. Once it reaches full production, the vessel is expected to yield approximately 4.5 million carats over its estimated operating life of 30 years.

Date: 2007-08-27 Time: 12.25 PM

» Alrosa announces major diamond find in Yakutia

Source: AFNS The Russian diamond mining monopoly Alrosa announced that it has found a major diamond deposit in Yakutia, containing some $3.5 billion worth of diamonds. While the company did not say how many carats of stones are estimated to be in the deposit, it said that it could produce 1.2 million to 2 million tonnes of ore a year for 25 years. Experts say that makes it the largest diamond find in Yakutia in more than 10 years. Yakutia is also the location of the Mir diamond mine, Alrosa’s largest. The company is controlled by the Russian national government, which holds a 48 percent stake. The balance is controlled by the Republic of Yakutia, which is autonomous, along with company executives and local regions of Yakutia.

Date: 2007-08-26 Time: 09.56 AM

» Liberia permits diamond mining to resume

Source: AFNS Liberia is allowing diamond miners to operate legally in the country after a hiatus of many years caused by the dictatorship of Charles Taylor, a civil war and the imposition of diamond export sanctions by the UN Security Council in 2001. The sanctions were lifted in late April, and since then the Ministry of Lands, Mines and Energy has been working to establish regional diamond offices so that there is a chain of custody mechanism for the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme, according to the minister, Dr. Eugene Shannon. The Kimberley Process has now agreed to issue export certificates for diamonds, and on July 30 the Bureau of Mines began accepting license applications from brokers and dealers. Shannon said that miners should make sure that the pit they are working in is licensed, brokers should make sure they buy stones only from registered mines, and dealers should be sure to buy only from licensed brokers. He said penalties for noncompliance have been stiffened.

Date: 2007-08-25 Time: 12.25 PM

» Sierra Leone on track for record diamond exports

Source: AFNS Rough diamond exports from Sierra Leone are likely to top $160 million, their highest level since the end of a 1991-2002 civil war, said a senior mining official, as quoted by Reuters. From January through the end of July, Sierra Leone’s Gold and Diamond Office reported exports of 448,988 carats worth $102 million, $25 million more than during the same period in 2006. If the pace is kept, exports could get as high as $175 million by the end of the year, which was $50 million more than in 2006. "We set a target of $132 million for the year, but we now think we are leading for $160 million," said Andrew Keili, acting director of the Gold and Diamond Office, in conversation with Reuters. According to Keili, the improved figures are largely due to a new effort to reduce the channels available to smugglers. Smuggling was cited for the fall in exports in 2006, which stood at $125 million, down from the earlier post-war record of $142 million that had been set in 2005.

Date: 2007-08-24 Time: 09.56 AM

» Alrosa profits up, due to weak dollar

Source: AFNS Alrosa saw its profits increase 23 percent in the first half of 2007, despite a 7 percent decline in revenues, thanks to the weakening of the U.S. dollar against the ruble. The Russian diamond mining monopoly had a net profit of 5.94 billion rubles ($232 million) on revenues of 36.41 billion rubles ($1.42 billion) in the first half of 2007, compared to a net profit of 4.819 billion rubles ($188 million) on revenues of 36.41 billion rubles ($1.42 billion) in the corresponding period of last year. Diamond sales were 7.4 percent in the first half of 2007, compared to the first half of 2006. For 2006 as a whole, the company made a net profit of $599 million, up 3.2 percent from 2005. Diamond sales totaled $2.86 billion in 2006. The largest stakeholder in Alrosa is the Russian government, with a 48 percent share. Minority stakeholders include the government of the autonomous Republic of Yakutia and company executives.

Date: 2007-08-23 Time: 16.30 PM

» Petra recovers two massive stones at South African mine

Source: AFNS Petra Diamonds has announced the recovery of two large rough diamonds at its recently acquired Koffiefontein mine in South Africa’s Free State province. According to the company, stones weigh 135.6 carats and 74.7 carats, and they both gem quality. Earlier this month a 60.25 carat stone rough diamond was uncovered at Koffiefontein, and later was sold for $736 000. Petra says that it expects to put approximately 9000 carats worth of rough on sale by tender in early September. At this time the two recently discovered diamonds will be sold, as well as two other rough diamond that are larger than 10 carats earch. “The acquisition of the Koffiefontein mine was only recently completed, yet the recovery within a short time frame of these exceptional stones, together with the high value run of mine production, means Petra's expectations for revenue and bottom line cash flow from the mine should be substantially exceeded,” said Adonis Pouroulis, Petra’s chairman. Petra Diamonds finalized its 81.9 million rand purchase of the Koffiefontein mine from De Beers Consolidated Mines in July.

Date: 2007-08-22 Time: 08.45 AM

» U.S. polished diamond imports rise 6.2 percent

Source: AFNS The United States imported $8.79 billion worth of polished diamonds in the first half of 2007, a 6.2 percent increase in value terms from last year, although in weight terms imports declined 15.3 percent to 7.31 million carats. The average per-carat value of the polished imports was $1,202. Israel was the largest supplier of U.S. polished diamond imports by value in the first half of 2007 at $4.75 billion, an 8.5 percent rise over last year, although in weight terms Israel shipped 5.2 percent less, at 1.8 million carats. Value per carat of polished imports from Israel therefore averaged $2,625. At 4.02 million carats, India was responsible for more than half of U.S. polished imports in the first half of 2007 in weight terms, although this was actually a 17.6 percent decline from last year. In value terms, the United States’ polished imports from India rose 3.4 percent to $1.62 billion, almost 20 percent of the total. Value per carat of polished imports from India therefore averaged $400.43. Coming in behind Israel and India in the U.S. polished diamond import figures were: • Belgium, up 6.6 percent in value terms to $1.49 billion, but down 9.1 percent in weight terms to 738,284 carats, for an average of $2,021 per carat; • South Africa, up 22.6 percent in value terms to $325.75 million, for an average of $7,871 per carat; • Switzerland, up 23.2 percent in value terms to $142.8 million, for an average of $15,164 per carat; • China, up almost 100 percent in value terms to $62 million, for an average of $1,241 per carat; • Hong Kong, down almost 58 percent in value terms to $54.7 million, for an average of $557 per carat; and • The United Arab Emirates, down 41 percent in value terms to $50.7 million, for an average of $916 per carat.

Date: 2007-08-21 Time: 13.11 PM

» Former WFDB President Moshe Schnitzer dies at 86

Source: AFNS Moshe Schnitzer, the formed president of the World Federation of Diamond Bourses (WFDB), died in Tel Aviv on August 16 at the age of 86. Schnitzer served two terms as WFDB president, from 1968 to 1972 and from 1978 to 1982. He was later named Honorary Life President of the organization, and at the 1992 Presidents Meeting in New York he was presented with a Lifetime Achievement Award. WFDB President Ernest Blom offered the organization’s condolences to Shmuel Schnitzer, Moshe’s son, who followed in father’s footsteps as WFDB president, and to the other members of the Schnitzer family. “Moshe Schnitzer was a visionary, who led by example. After laying the foundation in Israel for what would grow, largely according to his plan, into one of the world’s most important diamond centres, he turned his attention to the WFDB and the international diamond trade. He realised that our strength lay in our ability to complement one another, working together as an international network of colleagues, rather than as competitors. Generations of diamantaires from all over the world considered him a mentor and a leader.,” Blom said. Moshe Schnitzer was born in 1921 in Chernowich, Romania, and immigrated to Israel in 1934. Having studied philosophy at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, he began to work as a diamond cutter in 1942 and became a foreman in 1944. In 1947 he was active in uniting the bodies that jointly established the Israel Diamond Exchange. In 1965 he was the first diamantaire to be cited as an Outstanding Diamond Exporter by Israel’s Ministry of Industry and Trade. He went on to serve as president of the Israel Diamond Exchange from 1967 to1993, and in 1994 was elected honorary president of the Israel Diamond Exchange. He also served as chairman of the Israel Diamond Institute and chairman of the Harry Oppenheimer Diamond Museum in Ramat Gan. In 2004 Schnitzer was named a recipient of the Israel Prize for his life’s achievements. It is the highest civilian honor bestowed by the Israeli government upon one of its citizens. Among his various other awards was the Order of King Leopold I of Belgium, in appreciation of his contribution to the Israeli and Belgian diamond industries. He also received an honorary doctorate from Bar Ilan University for his vision and leadership of the Israeli diamond sector. In 1999 the municipality of Ramat Gan named the plaza adjacent to the Israel Diamond Exchange Moshe Schnitzer Plaza, and later the campus of the diamond exchange was named the “Israel Diamond Center in Honor of Moshe Schnitzer.”

Date: 2007-08-20 Time: 07.50AM

» eBay issues rules about the describing of diamonds

Source: AFNS eBay, the online auctioneer, has issued more stringent rules about how diamonds are qualified on its site. Making several changes to its policy regarding items listed in Jewelry, Precious Metals and Loose Beads, sellers are now only permitted to use the word "diamond" in jewelry listings only to describe a natural mineral consisting essentially of pure carbon, crystallized in the isometric system. According to the new instructions, a diamond offered for sale must also meet the following requirements: a hardness of 10, specific gravity of approximately 3.52 and a refractive index of 2.42. Sellers listing any laboratory-grown stone and using the word diamond must now precede or follow-up the word diamond with any one of the following eight terms: created, lab-created, man-made, synthetic, manufactured, laboratory-grown, laboratory-created or [manufacturer-name]-created. Furthermore, sellers of Cubic Zirconium stones can only use the word "diamond" if it word is immediately preceded or followed by the words simulated or imitation, spelled out in full.

Date: 2007-08-19 Time: 12.25 PM

» British royal family changes jewelers

Source: AFNS The British royal family has changed official jewelers, dropping Garrad after 164 years and switching to Harry Collins, a small, family-run antiques and modern jewelry firm based on the fringes of London. Garrad, whose services were first retained by Queen Victoria in 1843, went bankrupt last year and was bought by a U.S. billionaire who has a supermarket fortune. Reportedly, Queen Elizabeth II felt that Garrad’s use of pop star Christina Aguilera as “brand ambassador” and of designs by Jade Jagger, the daughter of pop star Mick Jagger, could be embarrassing to the royal family. However, an official statement from the royals said that there was no problem with Garrad. Collins will now have the responsibility of going to Buckingham Palace at least once each week to look after the British Crown Jewels and the queen’s personal jewelry collection.

Date: 2007-08-18 Time: 09.56 AM

» Petra Diamonds finishes buying Koffiefontein Mine in South Africa

Source: AFNS Petra Diamonds Limited said it has completed the acquisition of the Koffiefontein Mine in South Africa from De Beers Consolidated Mines, the South African arm of the De Beers Group, which sold it because it was not profitable. The cost was R81.9 million ($11.9 million), of which R80 million ($11.6 million) consists of assumption of De Beers debt, and the remainder is being paid in cash. Petra said it can now begin selling Koffiefontein diamonds. The company said that it has recovered 16,700 carats so far during plant testing, “including one exceptional high quality stone of 60.25 carats and a further 35 stones larger than 10 carats each. The company will auction off these diamonds soon. Petra has also accumulated a substantial stockpile of ore since it began care and maintenance activities of the cave at Koffiefontein in July 2006, which, it estimates, includes at least a further 30,000 carats of stones. In the future, Petra expects annual sales from Koffiefontein of around 95,000 carats, yielding revenues of approximately $20 million. This will add approximately $14 million to company revenue in the fiscal year ending June 2008, due to Petra’s 70 percent stake in the mine. The company’s “black economic empowerment” partners, a requirement under South African law, hold the remaining 30 percent stake in the mine.

Date: 2007-08-17 Time: 12.25 PM

» Stornoway and Shear buy out BHP Billiton interest in diamond project

Source: AFNS Stornoway Diamond Corporation and Shear Minerals Ltd. announced that they have acquired all of BHP Billiton’s interest in the Churchill Diamond Project in Nunavut, in Canada’s far north. Stornoway and Shear each acquired 50 percent of BHP Billton’s 12.5 percent interest for Can. $4 million (U.S.$3.82 million) each, by paying Can. $1.25 million (U.S.$1.19 million) cash and issuing stock worth Can. $2.75 million (U.S.$2.63 million). The Churchill Diamond Project includes mineral rights to more than 2 million acres located near the communities of Rankin Inlet and Chesterfield Inlet in the Kivalliq region of Nunavut, where there are four “significantly diamond bearing, vertically emplaced kimberlite dykes up to 4 meters in width that have returned sampling grades up to 2.04 carats per ton,” the partners said. Stornoway Diamond Corporation says it has been involved in the discovery of more than 150 kimberlites in six Canadian diamond districts. It is based in Vancouver, British Columbia. Shear is based in Edmonton, Alberta.

Date: 2007-08-16 Time: 09.56 AM

» Gem Diamonds offers $264 million for Kimberley Diamond Co.

Source: AFNS Gem Diamonds Limited said it has offered Aus. $300 million (U.S.$264 million) in cash and stock for Australia’s Kimberley Diamond Company NL, owner of the Ellendale Mine in Western Australia. As part of the deal, Gem Diamonds is providing Kimberley Diamond with a short-term loan of Aus. $10 million (U.S.$8.8 million). Gem Diamonds is a diamond mining company that owns one producing kimberlite mine—the Letseng Mine in Lesotho—and one producing alluvial mine, the Cempaka Mine in Indonesia. The company also has a kimberlite development project in Botswana, four development projects in the Democratic Republic of Congo (Congo-Kinshasa), one in the Central African Republic and an option to develop the Chiri kimberlite concession in Angola. Gem Diamonds focuses on higher value diamonds. The firm had an IPO on the London Stock Exchange in February 2007, raising more than $600 million (U.S.) net to fund development of existing assets and pursue acquisitions. Kimberley is an independent diamond producer listed on the Australian Securities Exchange and the Alternative Investment Market of the London Stock Exchange. It owns the Ellendale Mine, which is 2,000 km north of Perth in Western Australia’s Kimberley region, and produces predominantly gem and near-gem quality diamonds, including some fancy yellow stones. During the first half of 2007, the Ellendale Project continued its production ramp-up, following five years of infrastructure and mining development amounting to a total investment of approximately Aus. $150 million (U.S.$132 million). From the start of mining in mid-2002 through the end of fiscal 2007, the company processed more than 11 million tonnes of ore at Ellendale, resulting in the recovery of more than 700,000 carats and generating sales revenue of Aus. $165 million (U.S.$145 million).

Date: 2007-08-15 Time: 12.25 PM

» Record production reported at Diavik

Source: AFNS Rio Tinto reported record production at the Diavik Mine in the Northwest Territories in the second quarter, with its 60 percent share of the rough diamonds mined there coming to 1.975 million carats. This was a 21 percent increase compared with the second quarter of 2006 and a 27 percent increase from the first quarter of this year. In the first half of the year, Rio Tinto’s share of Diavik production was 3.526 million carats, up 30 percent from the first half of 2006. The good results at Diavik, a joint venture with Harry Winston Diamonds (Aber Diamond Corp.), was due to “strong throughput and continued higher grades,” the company said. At Rio Tinto’s wholly owned Argyle Mine in Western Australia, production “remained constrained due to continued low feed grade associated with current mining locations,” the company said. “Ongoing variability in production levels can be expected as the mine reaches the end of the open-pit life and transitions to an underground operation.” Therefore, production at Argyle totaled 4.414 million carats in the second quarter, down 41 percent from the corresponding period of last year but up 27 percent from the first quarter of this year. In the first half of the year, production at Argyle totaled 7.884 million carats, down 38 percent from the first half of 2006.

Date: 2007-08-14 Time: 09.56 AM

» Minister expresses disappointment over comment about beneficiation

Source: AFNS Buyelwa Sonjica, South Africa’s Minister of Minerals and Energy, has publicly expressed her disappointment over comments made by Jonathan Oppenheimer at the Gordon Institute of Business, which she felt were critical about her government’s policy of beneficiation. Oppenheimer said that subsidies would be necessary to assist local manufacturers, who have polishing costs around $70-$100 per carat, if they are going to be able to compete with India, where he said polishing costs are $6-$8 per carat. In response, Sonjica said she was "disappointed" by Oppenheimer's comments, especially since De Beers had previously supported the government policy of beneficiation. "One moment De Beers commits to beneficiation in this country. Next moment they are sending this message," she said, in a statement released by her office. But Nicola Wilson, a De Beers spokesperson, said that Oppenheimer was committed to aiding the local community, and references to beneficiation were only a small part of his talk at the Gordon Institute of Business. "De Beers is fully supportive and Jonathan is fully supportive of local benefication," she stated.

Date: 2007-08-13 Time: 16.30 PM

» Chinese diamond trade double in first half of 2007

Source: AFNS The trade in diamonds, including imports and exports, through the Shanghai Diamond Exchange increased by 119.5 percent to $443 million during the first half of 2007, when compared to the same period a year before. According to a report released by the bourse, diamond imported or exported under general trade equaled $419 million, 115.7 percent more than the amount reported for the corresponding six month period a year before, while diamonds traded as bonded goods rose by 215.9 percent to $24.54 million. The Shanghai Diamond Exchange is the only channel through which the general exports and imports of diamonds can be managed on the Chinese mainland.

Date: 2007-08-12 Time: 08.45 AM

» Michielsen introduces new ‘Centenaire’ diamond cut

Source: AFNS Antwerp-based diamond company Michielsen Manufacturing & Co. has come out with a new diamond cut, dubbed the “Centenaire.” Designed by Ludo Michielsen, the new cut has 96 facets plus another four on the table, far more than a standard round brilliant cut. The diamond manufacturer claims that this makes the Centenaire cut appear larger than it is, reflects colors more interestingly and even hides inclusions. The new cut is available in diamonds weighing 0.3 carats and up. Cententaire-cut stones come with certificates from the International Gemological Institute.

Date: 2007-08-11 Time: 13.11 PM

» Kimberley Process participants’ rough statistics for 2006 released

Source: AFNS The Kimberley Process authorities have released figures relating to rough diamond production and trade, by volume and value, as reported by Kimberley Process participants in 2006. In a statement released by the Kimberley Process Chairman Karel Kovanda, of the European Commission, he said:”This is a welcome advance in the KP, demonstrating participant countries' willingness to open up statistics for scrutiny and analysis, helping to ensure that there is no room for any conflict diamonds in the legitimate KP-certified diamond trade." “One of our priorities as Chair is to enhance the accuracy and transparency of Kimberley Process statistics. We are proud of what the Kimberley Process has achieved, bringing together governments, industry and civil society in a partnership which has ensured that the vast majority of diamond production is now conflict-free, and are committed to delivering further improvements in the areas identified by members last year.” Kovanda stated.

Date: 2007-08-10 Time: 17.19 PM

» AWDC to support youth basketball tourney

Source: AFNS The Antwerp World Diamond Centre (AWDC) has announced that it will support “Basket loves Kids,” a youth basketball initiative of the Antwerp Giants, the city’s professional basketball team. The program aims to bring together youngsters from different cultural heritage and social strata in a series of street basketball games and to facilitate their integration in the Antwerp community. To support the project, the AWDC, with the support of the Antwerp diamond community, will sponsor the pre-premiere screening of the movie “Gandhi, My Father,” a film by Indian director and actor Feroz Khan and produced by Anil Kapoor Films Company. At his occasion, the director and leading actors will be in Antwerp to promote the movie, which will be released in the Belgian movie theatres end 2007. The "Basket loves Kids" day will take place on September 23, with neighborhood games organized on Antwerp’s main shopping axis ‘Meir’. It will be followed by a massive event in the Lotto Arena, Antwerp's principal basketball stadium. “AWDC's motivation to sponsor the movie's launch is not surprising. The Scheldt city's diamond community hosts various cultural and ethnical groups, and the Indian population is one of the pillars of Antwerp's diamond business”, states Philip Claes, spokesman of AWDC. The pre-premiere screening of “Gandhi, My Father” will be on August 29 at Metropolis Antwerpen, starting at 7:00 P.M. The event will be attended by politicians, representatives of the Belgian diamond industry, movie and sports personalities, including Belgian ex-basketball player and godfather of the ‘Basket loves Kids’ initiative, Pieter Loridon.

Date: 2007-08-09 Time: 10.23 AM

» Diamond ice cream cone for sale—cost, $1 million

Source: AFNS To keep cool this summer, the possessor of a cool million dollars might want to consider buying a diamond-studded piece of jewelry shaped like an ice cream cone. The item contains more than 630 diamonds with a total weight of approximately 150 carats. The cone is made of 18k unpolished gold, with 87 square-cut diamonds and a fancy yellow 5.63 carat diamond on it, while the scoop is made of white gold topped with enameled gold cherries. Bruster’s Real Ice Cream of Pittsburgh is selling the cone to raise money for Big Brothers Big Sisters of America.

Date: 2007-08-08 Time: 15.01 PM

» Jwaneng Mine profit margin more than 80 percent

Source: AFNS The profit margin on the Jwaneng Mine, one of the four Debswana mines in Botswana, is more than 80 percent, according to General Manager Balisi Bonyongo. The mine is expected to produce 13 million to 14 million carats of diamonds a year from open pit operations until 2022, after which an underground mine is expected to continue producing at the site for 20 to 30 more years. The mine is currently completing a study of the ore body to found at depth of 400 to 1,000 meters, and has received bids to dig an exploration shaft 1.2 km northwest of the open pit, where three kimberlite pipes are currently being exploited. New treatment plants are planned for Jwaneng and another of the Debswana mines, Orapa, as part of an investment plan in which Debswana plans to spend 10 billion to 15 billion pula ($1.63 billion to $2.45 billion) over the next 10 years, Bonyongo said. Debswana, which is a 50-50 joint venture between De Beers and the Botswanan government, is responsible for one-third of the country’s GDP, 85 percent of its foreign exchange earnings and half of government income. Despite the fact that its carat output is lower than Orapa’s, Jwaneng is responsible for as much as 70 percent of Debswana’s earnings, due to the higher value of the stones mined there. The only cloud in the mine’s sky is a tire shortage that is hurting production and is expected to last another two to three years. Jwaneng employs 2,300 of Debswana’s total workforce of 6,500. The mine is making 10 million pula ($1.63 million) in social contributions this year. The mine’s hospital serves 30,000 employees and local residents each year, at an annual cost of 40 million pula ($6.5 million). The mine also helps sponsor a 19,000 hectare game park that protects 1,700 animals, including endangered cheetahs.

Date: 2007-08-07 Time: 07.30AM

» WFDB President announces appointment of Michael Vaughan as Executive Director

Source: AFNS Ernest Blom, the President of the World Federation of Diamond Bourses, has today announced the appointment of Michael Vaughan as the WFDB’s first ever full-time Executive Director. Vaughan currently serves as Secretary General of the WFDB, having first been elected to the post at the 30th World Diamond Congress in London in 2002. He will continue to serve in that position, while at the same time fulfilling his duties as Executive Director. The decision to appoint a professional Executive Director was taken by the WFDB leadership at the Presidents Meeting in Amsterdam in June. There it was resolved to upgrade both the operation and administrative infrastructure of the organisation, so that it would be better equipped to deal with the challenges of the 21st century business environment, in which the WFDB will provide an expanded range of services directly to WFDB bourse members. Born in London, Vaughan moved to Belgium in 1981. There he became a member of the Antwerpsche Diamantkring cvba, the world’s leading rough diamond bourse. In 1995 he was elected to his bourse’s board of directors. Since 2003, he has served as an Executive Member of the Antwerpsche Diamantkring’s board. From 1997 to 2005, Vaughan was a member of the Marketing and Public Relations Committee of the HRD (now Antwerp World Diamond Centre). He also was a member of the ad-hoc task force created by the HRD to conduct negotiations with the European Community and Belgian Government. The Committee’s task was to deliver recommendations on the ‘European Regulation on the Control of Conflict Diamonds’. “I am most honoured to have been offered the position of Executive Director, and thrilled at the challenge which awaits me,” Vaughan said. “The WFDB stands on the threshold of a new era, as it strives to project its presence in the industry in order to promote the interests of the members of its affiliated bourses. The marketplace requires a diamond trade that is both ethical and accountable for its actions, and the WFDB has the reputation and the legal infrastructure to guarantee just that. From an organisational and operational standpoint this requires us to expand our infrastructure most significantly, and for me that will be the first task of business.”

Date: 2007-08-06 Time: 10.00 AM

» BHP Billiton names new diamond group executive

Source: AFNS BHP Billton has appointed Alberto Calderon executive and chief commercial officer of its diamonds and specialty products consumer sector group. He previously served as the group’s president. Calderon’s promotion is a part of a senior management reshuffle following the appointment of Marius Kloppers as CEO. Kloppers formally assumes this position on October 1. BHP Billiton is a major producer of rough diamonds. The company has an 80 percent stake in the Ekati Mine in Canada’s Northwest Territories. It is also active in Angola and other African countries.

Date: 2007-08-05 Time: 09.15AM

» Chikane named CEO of South Africa’s State Diamond Trader

Source: AFNS South Africa’s new State Diamond Trader, which has been established under government-backed legislation, will have as its CEO Abbey Chikane, formerly chairman of the South African Diamond Board. A spokesperson for the country’s Department of Minerals and Energy confirmed the appointment. The State Diamond Trader is replacing the Diamond Board, which had different functions. The new body has the right of first refusal on rough stones mined in South Africa, which it is supposed to buy to provide the domestic diamond polishing industry with a steady source of supply. Chikane is vice president of Gemini Consulting and a founder of the Sub-Saharan Group, which engages in the diamond trade among other businesses. Beginning in 2001, he served as the first president of the Kimberley Process, the international organization set up to suppress the trade in conflict diamonds. Chikane has held other official industry positions as well.

Date: 2007-08-04 Time: 07.32AM

» Rapaport proposes ‘fair trade’ jewelry

Source: AFNS Martin Rapaport has proposed starting a line of “fair trade” jewelry that consumers could be assured contains ethically sourced diamonds and is made by workers who are fairly treated and paid. In a speech in Johannesburg, Rapaport said consumers would be willing to pay a premium for such jewelry, which could be made in developing countries like South Africa with the cooperation of professional jewelers. Similar efforts have failed in the past because they were run by governments rather than privately held business, he said. If done right, however, fair trade jewelry could ultimately make up 10 percent of the world’s $60 billion market for jewelry, he said. The term “fair trade” itself is trademarked and would not necessarily be used, he said. Rapaport also said that he is interested in starting an organization that could help small South African diamond polishing companies reach markets that would buy their goods. The lack of marketing networks for such companies is one factor blocking the development of the industry that the South African government is trying so hard to foster through its beneficiation program, which requires diamond mining firms to offer a supply to domestic cutters, said Louis Selekane, CEO of the South African Diamond and Precious Metals Regulator.

Date: 2007-08-03 Time: 07.30AM

» Textile manufacturers lure away Surat diamond polishers

Source: AFNS The diamond industry in Surat, the center of the Indian diamond polishing industry, faces a new threat, as the local textile industry has lured away some 25 to 30 percent of its workforce in recent months, according to a news report. Together with moves by African countries to impose tariffs on rough diamond exports to India so as to foster domestic diamond polishing industries, a proposed 4 percent tariff on Indian jewelry exports to the United States and the strengthening of the rupee against the U.S. dollar, the loss of skilled diamond workers could cut the industry’s profitability this year, according to Surat diamond dealer Pravin Nanavaty, who is an official of the trade association Gujarat Hira Bourse. The diamond workers are leaving because the textile industry can offer them higher wages, according to Devkishan Maghnani, acting president of the Federation of Surat Textiles Traders Association and the Surat Textile Manufacturers Consortium. The textile industry in turn is being pressured by low-wage Chinese competition.

Date: 2007-08-02 Time: 12.25 PM

» South Korea to lift consumption tax on jewelry

Source: AFNS Exporting to the potentially massive South Korean diamond jewelry market may be getting significantly easier, following news that the country’s government will eliminate a special consumption tax on high-priced jewelry as early as next year. According to a statement release by the by South Korean Ministry of Finance and Economy, a 20 percent special consumption tax on jewelry priced over 2 million won ($2,180 U.S. dollars) will be eliminated. “The jewelry industry could create both jobs and high-value- added products,” the ministry said in its statement. To further boost the industry, the South Korean government plans to offer loans with an annual interest rate of 4.75 percent to support gemstone purchases. It also will select a local city that will be designated as the Center for Jewelry Industry Development.

Date: 2007-08-01 Time: 09.56 AM

» Alrosa wins appeal against order to stop selling to De Beers

Source: AFNS Alrosa, the Russian government-controlled monopoly diamond producer, won an appeal against the European Commission’s order that it stop selling rough diamonds to De Beers after the end of 2008 for antitrust reasons. The Court of First Instance annulled the decision, and the European Commission said it would study the ruling closely. The decision had restricted Alrosa to selling De Beers no more than $600 million worth of stones this year and no more than $400 million next year, before the final cutoff, which the appeals court said was too draconian a ruling. De Beers had not appealed the European Commission’s ruling, which came just as it was settling a decades-old antitrust lawsuit by the U.S. Department of Justice for $10 million and was settling a class-action civil lawsuit in the United States as well. Alrosa had been selling De Beers approximately $800 million worth of rough stones a year, about 13 percent of De Beers’ total sales, and analysts had estimated that the profit margin was less than 10 percent. However, Alrosa’s win on appeal is likely to boost both companies.

Date: 2007-07-31 Time: 12.25 PM

» DTC organizing separate sales, marketing units

Source: AFNS De Beers’ Diamond Trading Company (DTC) is organizing separate sales and marketing units, Managing Director Varda Shine told a seminar held for sightholders in London July 11. The move will help the DTC focus clearly on its core distribution and marketing activities, the company said. Shine noted that the move comes amidst the new sightholder selection process for the 2008-2011 contracts and the setting up of Namibia DTC and DTC Botswana, the latter of which is to take over the DTC’s sorting and aggregation work, now done in the United Kingdom. The marketing unit will focus on developing and marketing concepts like Trilogy and Journey Diamond Jewelry and the Forevermark program, as well as bolstering consumer confidence in diamonds. At the same time, the DTC will work to keep up an optimum sustainable price for producers’ diamonds, offer a secure and sustainable marketing channel, and help out with “beneficiating” rough diamonds to the domestic polishing and jewelry industries in the producer countries. The company will also provide sightholders with reliable supplies of rough, along with know-how, technology and marketing expertise.

Date: 2007-07-30 Time: 09.56 AM

» HRD Lab Link Launched in Israel

Source: AFNS HRD Antwerp NV took a significant step in its new global outreach programme on Tuesday, July 17, with the official launch in Israel of HRD Lab Link. The new service will provide members of the Israeli diamond centre direct access to the HRD Diamond Lab, one of the world’s most respected diamond grading institutions, with diamonds picked up at the clients’ office in Ramat Gan, and returned to the offices after grading in Antwerp with their certificates. The launch took place at a reception and presentation held at the Sheraton City Tower Hotel, adjacent to the Israel Diamond Exchange complex in Tel Aviv. The event was attended by members of the Israeli diamond, gemstone and jewellery community, and included key officials from the centre’s leading industry organisations. Heading the Belgian delegation was Georges Brys, the newly appointed general manager of HRD Antwerp NV. He was accompanied by Freddy Hanard, CEO of the Antwerp World Diamond Centre (AWDC), Dirk Dullaert, HRD Antwerp NV’s Chief Officer Commercial Operations, and Grietje Renders, HRD Antwerp NV Account Manager The HRD Lab Link pick up certification service, which is logistically supported in Israel by D2D Val Express and in Belgium by G4S, will offer the complete range of services offered by the HRD Diamond lab in Antwerp, including full diamond certificates, fancy colour diamond certificates, laser inscriptions with the HRD Certificate ID number inscribed on the girdle; and sealing, which guarantees the association between the stone and the certificate. The service is also tailored for smaller and medium sized companies that send out parcels of limited size and even single stones. In his address to the gathering, Brys noted that Israel was a natural first step in what will develop into a global outreach service, ultimately providing services internationally that to date were only directly available in Antwerp. "Once we have demonstrated that the concept works effectively, we will bringing other centres on board, with India being a high priority.”

Date: 2007-07-29 Time: 16.30 PM

» Diamond nail polish goes on offer

Source: AFNS Nail polish is the latest luxury consumer item to be infused by entrepreneurs with nature’s hardest substance, diamonds. If that does not stop one biting ones nails, then nothing most probably will. Celebrity British “nail technician” Leighton Denny is offering a range of nail varnishes containing actual diamond particles, such as “Diamond Ice,” which retails for £12 ($24). Another product, “the diamond, sapphire and ruby encapsulization,” features a nail bath, a polish and 9 carats of inlaid gems.

Date: 2007-07-28 Time: 09.15AM

» Debswana using Zeppelin to prospect for kimberlite

Source: AFNS Debswana, the 50-50 joint venture between De Beers and the Botswanan government, has been using a zeppelin to prospect for kimberlites since late 2005, and is thought to have found at least one kimberlite by this method. The airship is leased from Bell Geospace, and an additional one-year contract is expected to be signed next April. The cost of operating the Zeppelin is R60 million ($8.6 million) a year. The Zeppelin is useful because the sensitive equipment needed to detect kimberlites from the air cannot function amid the vibrations caused by helicopter or airplane motors. It will be used in South Africa as well as Botswana. The Zeppelin is just one part of Debswana’s plans for the next 10 years, which call for an investment of R11 billion ($1.58 billion) to expand its four existing diamond mines, Letlhakane, Damtshaa, Orapa and Jwaneng. The money will also go to build two new processing plants at the latter two mines, and dig a 1 km deep exploration shaft at Jwaneng starting in 2009 as a first step to turning it into a completely underground mine when the open pit is exhausted by 2022. In the meantime, an eighth “cut,” the last at the open pit, is to begin by 2011 so as to extract the maximum benefit from its three closely bunched kimberlites.

Date: 2007-07-27 Time: 07.32AM

» Canadian and South African diamond explorers merge

Source: AFNS Two diamond prospecting firms, Canada-based BRC Diamond Corporation and Johannesburg-based Diamond Core Resources Limited, have announced a merger, which is being carried out as an all-stock transaction. The combined entity will be named BRC DiamondCore Ltd. and will have listings on both the Toronto and Johannesburg Stock Exchanges, with current BRC and Diamond Core shareholders holding approximately 53 and 47 percent of the merged firm, respectively. The merged company will have land and infrastructure in “proven” diamond-producing regions of South Africa and “prospective” diamond-producing regions of the Democratic Republic of Congo (Congo-Kinshasa). It will also have several advanced alluvial exploration projects with recently commissioned bulk sampling plants, such as Silverstreams on the northern bank of the Orange River in South Africa’s Northern Cape Province; Uitdraai on the river’s southern bank; De Kalk, near the site of South Africa’s first diamond discovery in 1866; and along the Kwango River in Congo-Kinshasa. Kimberlite bulk sampling projects include Paardeberg East and Skeyfontein in South Africa, and Tshikapa and Lubao in Congo-Kinshasa. The merged company will have $17 million in cash on hand, enough for one year of operations, according to Diamond Core CEO Theo Botoulas. BRC Diamond’s market value is currently almost $109 million while Diamond Core’s is about $76 million.

Date: 2007-07-26 Time: 07.30AM

» Stock analysts say Aber’s future brighter than Tahera’s

Source: AFNS Two stock analysts with the Canadian firm Scotia Capital said that while the diamond industry in general has a bright future thanks to rising demand for jewelry, a shortage of high-quality rough stones and rising diamond prices, they would recommend buying stock in Aber Diamond Corp. rather than Tahera Diamond Corp. at present. Aber, which is changing its name to Harry Winston to match its wholly owned fine jewelry subsidiary, is the 40 percent owner of the Diavik mine in the Northwest Territories. Scotia gold and precious minerals analysts Trevor Turnbull and David Christie, the latter also a professional geologist, said the company is likely to benefit from the name change despite some potential ambiguity about whether it is primarily a mining firm or a jewelry company. Moreover, it could partner with De Beers Canada on the latter’s three diamond projects, they said. Tahera, on the other hand, had a difficult startup year and must prove that it can successfully operate its Jericho mine in the Nunavut territory, the analysts said.

Date: 2007-07-25 Time: 12.25 PM

» Botswana, Angola talking about diamond mining cooperation

Source: AFNS Botswana and Angola are talking about cooperating on diamond mining. Patrick Balopi, speaker of the Botswana parliament, told Angolan Minister of Geology and Mining Manuel Africano that the two countries should cooperate, and that Botswana is interested in learning how Angola has used diamonds to benefit its people. Africano replied that his country is cooperating with South Africa and the Democratic Republic of Congo (Congo-Kinshasa) and is talking with Mozambique and Namibia. Balopi paid a visit to Angolan state-owned diamond mining firm Endiama and its affiliate, Sodiam.

Date: 2007-07-24 Time: 09.56 AM

» Kimberley Diamond says 1.6 million carats at Ellendale

Source: AFNS Australia’s Kimberley Diamond Company NL said that there are 1.6 million carats of rough diamonds at its Ellendale 9 Project in Western Australia, 41 percent more than the company had estimated as of June 30, 2006. The new estimate is that there are 29.3 million tonnes of fragmental lamproite ore with a grade of 5.4 cpht (carats per hundred tonnes). The increase holds even allowing for mining depletion over the past 12 months. Much of the increased resource estimate comes from the eastern lobe of Ellendale Pipe 9, which has the highest value diamonds at the mine, with sales values of $370 (U.S.) per carat. The company said it is planning a diamond core drilling program, initially focusing on that lobe. Chairman Miles Kennedy said the drilling may result in further increases to the estimated resource base at the mine. “Since the commencement of mining at Ellendale 9 in mid-2002, the operation has consistently delivered significantly higher, actual mined tonnages than predicted by the model—an overcall of approximately 17 percent over the life-of-mine to date,” the company said. “In the last three months, this variance has increased to 40 percent.”

Date: 2007-07-23 Time: 12.25 PM

» Ontario announces details of diamond royalty

Source: AFNS The Canadian province of Ontario has finalized the royalties it intends to impose on rough diamonds mined within its jurisdiction, ranging from 4 percent up to a maximum of 10.4 percent, depending on the mine’s net profits and allowing for deductions. The top rate applies to diamond companies making a net profit of more than Can. $281 million (U.S.$268 million) a year. “This new system acknowledges the unique challenges associated with mining in Northern Ontario,” Rick Bartolucci, Ontario Minister of Northern Development and Mines, said. “The additional deductions provided in the diamond royalty will encourage the long-term sustainability and global competitiveness of diamond production in Ontario, and support investments in diamond mining communities—in particular, northern and aboriginal communities.” The deductions the province will allow include 100 percent of qualifying expenditures under agreements with aboriginal communities or municipalities; 100 percent of qualifying donations in Ontario of a charitable, educational or benevolent nature; and 15 percent of the cost of establishing and operating a new diamond mine in Ontario. The latter allowance will be in addition to the allowable deductions for such expenses already available under the royalty, and limited to a maximum 20 percent of annual net profits. Qualifying expenses for this allowance will include salaries and wages, training costs, infrastructure investments, exploration, research and development, charitable donations and payments to municipalities or aboriginal communities. Ontario’s first diamond mine will be the Victor Project, a De Beers Canada project in the James Bay lowlands of the northern part of the province. It is scheduled to start production in the middle of 2008.

Date: 2007-07-22 Time: 09.56 AM

» CIBJO president meets with UN Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon

Source: AFNS A delegation headed by CIBJO president Dr. Gaetano Cavalieri has met with United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon and discussed the global jewelry industry's efforts to help eradicate poverty and increase awareness of environmental issues, as well as the organization's endeavor to play a pivotal role in improving the livelihoods of those involved in the jewelry production pipeline, in particular in developing countries. The meeting with Ban Ki Moon took place earlier this month in Geneva where the CIBJO delegation attended the 2007 session of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), which serves as the central UN forum for discussing international economic and social issues and for formulating policy recommendations. The session's meetings are being held at the Palais des Nations in Geneva, July 2 to 27. The UN Secretary General was accompanied to the meeting by Dr. Hanifa Mezoui, chief of the NGO Section at ECOSOC. The CIBJO delegation consisted of Dr. Cavalieri; Richard Peplow, a member of the CIBJO's Presidential Council; Marc-Alain Christen, Chief Financial Officer of CIBJO; Piero Blondi, Vice President of the Italian Trade Association, who is also a member of CIBJO Sector II; Pierre Strauss, UN liaison to CIBJO, and Mila Bonini, CIBJO Director, Ban Ki Moon, who had been briefed by Dr. Cavalieri on CIBJO's recent congress in South Africa, commended the world jewellery confederation on its exemplary role in creating an innovative partnership between the jewellery industry and the UN principles. "We were all inspired by his interest and his resolve to help bring the principles of the United Nations to our industry," Cavalieri said. "The UN Secretary General expressed his support of CIBJO's effort in this regard, and stressed the need to employ and to strengthen all the instruments required to assure the international community that diamonds and other jewellery products are assets of peace.”

Date: 2007-07-21 Time: 12.25 PM

» Belgian exports of rough and polished diamonds rise sharply in June

Source: AFNS Exports of both rough and polished diamonds from Belgium rose sharply in June, both in terms of value and volume. This capped out a first half to 2007, in which polished diamond exports rose 9.06 percent in U.S. dollar terms, when compared to the first half of 2006, and rough diamond exports rose by 18.5 percent. According to data provided by the Diamond Office at the Antwerp World Diamond Center (AWDC), Belgium’s exports in June in terms of value equaled $968.4 million, 18.5 percent more than the $817.0 million reported for the same month a year earlier. In terms of volume, 818,446 carats were exported, 11.0 percent more than the 737,579 carats in June 2006. An even more significant rise was reported by the rough diamond sector, which saw its exports in June increasing to $1.09 billion, 41.6 percent more than the $770.6 million registered a year before. By volume13.5 million carats were exported, 27.2 percent more than the 10.7 million carats exported during the same month a year earlier. Polished diamond imports were also up in June, although not at the same rate as polished diamond exports. This would imply that members of the Belgian trade were able to draw down on stock. Some 882,054 carats worth $977.6 million were imported into Belgium, respectively 5.8 percent and 9.7 percent more than the 833,548 carats worth $890.8 million in June 2006. However rough diamond imports rose by a more modest 6.52 percent in value to $812.4 million in June, from $762.7 million during the corresponding month in year before, while in terms of volume a 16.2 percent fall occurred, falling from 11.4 million carats in June 2006 to 9.6 million carats in June 2007. Belgium’s largest export market saw a 12.3 percent increase in its intake of polished goods from Belgium, while in terms of carats a 6.3 percent decrease was registered. This certainly could have been influenced by the massive JCK Show in Las Vegas, where strong demand for larger, more expensive goods was reported and somewhat sluggish demand for smaller goods. Climbing fast up the export tables was India, which stood in ninth place in June. Its imports of Belgian polished goods rose a whopping 384.7 percent in terms of volume and 418.2 percent in terms of volume, when compared to its imports in June 2006. The Belgian diamond sector closed out the first half with polished diamond exports worth $5.28 billion and rough diamond exports worth $5.67 billion. Both the polished and rough diamond sectors remained in the black, with polished imports worth $4.99 billion reported and rough imports worth $5.02 billion during the first six months of 2007.

Date: 2007-07-20 Time: 09.56 AM

» Rival bids for ABM AMRO

Source: AFNS The Netherlands-based ABN AMRO Bank, a major financier of the international diamond and jewelry trade, now has two competing bidders to buy it up—the U.K.-based Barclays Bank and a consortium led by the Royal Bank of Scotland. As of May, ABN AMRO was valued at about $76 billion and Barclays Bank was valued at about $86 billion. The Royal Bank of Scotland group also includes Fortis and Santander, a consortium of European banks. The Dutch market regulator Autoriteit Financiële Markten has given both competitors until July 23 to finalize their bids. All sides are waiting for a decision by the Dutch Supreme Court on whether ABN AMRO’s shareholders would have to approve the sale of the bank’s U.S. subsidiary LaSalle to Bank of America, which will be required as part of ABN AMRO’s merger with a larger bank. Earlier reports indicated that if Barclays wins out, the merged bank will be headquartered in Amsterdam, and the Dutch Central Bank will regulate it, but the holding company and board of directors will be British. ABM AMRO would nominate the first chairman and Barclays the first CEO. ABM AMRO has said it is interested in expanding into Asia, Italy and Brazil, and Barclays is said to be particularly interested in ABM AMRO’s Asian and other foreign holdings.

Date: 2007-07-19 Time: 08.45 AM

» Cat accused of swallowing $18,000 diamond

Source: AFNS British actress Dora Bryan said her cat must have swallowed a £9000 ($18,000) diamond missing from her ring. According to Bryan, “Kitty Puss” loves to play with her ring, so the animal is likely responsible for the stone’s disappearance from its setting. Unfortunately, the kitty litter was emptied before the owner noticed the stone was missing. Bryan is currently squabbling with her insurance company, which is refusing to make good the loss.

Date: 2007-07-18 Time: 16.30 PM

» Diamonds at Botswana sample site worth $130 a carat

Source: AFNS African Diamonds plc announced that the interim value of the diamonds recovered at the AK6 diamond discovery in the Orapa province of Botswana is $130 per carat, at a lower cutoff size of 1 millimeter. These results are from Phase I and partial Phase II drilling, and were reported by De Beers, African Diamonds’ joint venture partner. This compares to a Phase 1 diamond value of $150 per carat reported by De Beers in July 2006. “The diamonds produced to date from Phase II are generally smaller, due in part to a higher level of diamond breakage, than those in Phase I,” African Diamonds said. “At this time it is not clear whether the breakage occurs in the kimberlite or arises from the exploration techniques used. An investigation in this regard has already commenced. It should be noted that Type II diamonds may be brittle as well as large, so they can be easily broken in the crushing stage of exploration.” Partial results from a sample trench at AK6 yielded 266 diamonds totaling 70.82 carats from approximately 540 tons of kimberlite, with a lower cutoff size of plus 2 millimeters. A Type II diamond weighing 10.71 carats was one of those recovered, and “breakage analysis” suggests that this diamond, together with two others weighing 2.465 carats and two weighing 8.729 carats, were likely to have originally formed part of a single stone weighing 21.894 carats. Type II diamonds, including the broken large ones, make up 69 percent by weight of the diamonds recovered to the plus 11 sieve class in the processed material from this sample.

Date: 2007-07-17 Time: 11.21AM

» West African Diamonds to produce diamonds in Sierra Leone

Source: AFNS West African Diamonds plc said it expects to start diamond and gold production at Koidu, Sierra Leone by the end of September, following the recent arrival of a 150 ton per hour gold processing plant and a five ton per hour dense media separation diamond recovery plant. Initial processing from previous bulk sampling yielded 5,670 diamonds weighing a total of 1,075.49 carats, and worth $198 per carat at a grade of 5.26 carats per hundred tons (cpht). The mobile DMS plant has so far extracted 348 diamonds weighing 40.47 carats from 487 tons of the tailings, implying that the kimberlite pipe sampled has a grade of more than 10 cpht. Moreover, the company said, diamonds that it produced from samples in 2004 and 2005 were revalued at $228 per carat this June. West African Diamonds plc (WAD) is a diamond exploration company with operations in Sierra Leone and Guinea, which was spun off from the West African assets of African Diamonds plc.

Date: 2007-07-16 Time: 09.11AM

» Environmental review may delay new De Beers mine

Source: AFNS De Beers Canada’s planned diamond mine at Gahcho Kué in the Northwest Territories may be further delayed by a new extended environmental impact review imposed by the Mackenzie Valley Environmental Impact Review Board. The board is concerned by the fact that the proposed mine would have to drain Kennady Lake. Its review is expected to be completed in the middle of 2009. De Beers Canada has two other mines in advanced stages of construction—Snap Lake, also in the Northwest Territories, which is scheduled to open at the end of the third quarter of 2007 and will be the first de Beers diamond mine outside Africa; and the Victor Project in the James Bay Lowlands of Northern Ontario, approximately 90 km west of the coastal community of Attawapiskat, which will be the first diamond mine in Ontario.

Date: 2007-07-15 Time: 18.50 PM

» LVMH said to be eyeing Tiffany

Source: AFNS Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy (LVMH) is interested in acquiring luxury retail jeweler Tiffany, according to media reports. The reports caused Tiffany shares to jump more than 6 percent on a single trading day, June 25. LVMH and De Beers have a 50-50 retail diamond jewelry partnership, now called De Beers Diamond Jewellers, that has opened outlets in New York, London and Tokyo, among other cities, and launched an e-commerce website early in June.

Date: 2007-07-14 Time: 09.15 AM

» Diamond analysis facility opens in Saskatoon, Canada

Source: AFNS The Saskatchewan Research Council (SRC) announced the opening of a new high-security diamond analysis facility in Saskatoon June 25. To meet growing demand, SRC expanded its existing Geoanalytical Laboratories diamond operations to this new location. The facility includes a new dense media separation plant with additional processing capacity. The first client scheduled to use this plant is Saskatchewan-based Great Western Diamonds Corp. The new lab will “offer the diamond industry some much needed additional capacity and options for accelerated delivery of trustworthy quantitative results, so crucial to our prospecting and evaluation efforts,” De Beers Canada Manager of Advanced Exploration Peter Williamson said. SRC initially expanded its mining support services to include diamonds in the 1980s, after the first Saskatchewan diamond find at Fort à la Corne. Overall mineral exploration in Saskatchewan increased more than tenfold in the past five years, and an additional 15 percent increase is expected this year, according to SRC.

Date: 2007-07-13 Time: 08.45 AM

» EU allows diamond imports from Liberia

Source: AFNS The European Union has now joined the UN Security Council in lifting its embargo on rough diamonds from Liberia. The UN Security Council lifted its ban on April 27, following the recommendations of a panel of experts that found that the West African country now has sufficient internal controls in place to regulate the trade. The EU made the lifting of its ban retroactive to that date. The EU is the current chair of the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme, which admitted Liberia to its ranks last month. The Kimberley Process was established in response to the outcry over the trade in conflict diamonds from Liberia, Sierra Leone and elsewhere, during the wars that raged in many of Africa’s diamond producing nations in the 1990s. The man responsible for the trade in conflict diamonds from Liberia and Sierra Leone and the loss of more than 400,000 lives in wars in those two countries, former Liberian dictator Charles Taylor, is now standing trial in The Hague on war crimes charges.

Date: 2007-07-12 Time: 09.35AM

» Russia may abolish duty on small rough diamonds

Source: AFNS The Russian government will consider positively a suggestion by the government-controlled diamond mining monopoly, Alrosa, to abolish the import duty on small rough stones, Minister of Economic Development and Trade German Gref told the company’s annual shareholders’ meeting on June 23. Gref said that first it would have to be determined where to draw the line between small and large rough diamonds for customs purposes, and added that the Ministry of Finance would have to be consulted. Alrosa announced that its dividends went up 14 percent in 2006. The company will pay out a total of $86.46 million, or $432 per share. The Russian government currently holds about 48 percent of the shares, but has long been angling for 50 percent plus one share, at the expense of the autonomous Republic of Sakha (Yakutia), where Alrosa’s largest diamond mine is located.

Date: 2007-07-11 Time: 18.50 PM

» IDMA expresses concern about derivatives at President Meeting

Source: AFNS Meeting at the Presidents Meeting in Amsterdan, June 24-26, the leaders of the International Diamond Manufacturers Association (IDMA) questioned the benefits to prospective investors number of pending diamond investment products and expressed grave concerns regarding the risks to the industry resulting from the anticipated volatility which will be injected into an otherwise reasonably stable marketplace. In a press release issued after the event, the IDMA Presidents urged that any diamond financial product must incorporate full transparency and remain free from any potential conflicts of interest. At the meeting, the IDMA presidents unanimously reaffirmed their endorsement of the Diamond Development Initiative (DDI), an initiative of the diamond industry, NGO’s, governments, banks and other interested parties, to improve conditions in the artisinal alluvial diamond mining sectors. The presidents also unanimously approved the appointment of IDMA’s Secretary General, Stephane Fischler, to the newly formed DDI Board of Directors. In the context of preserving consumer confidence in diamonds, IDMA Presidents secured the involvement of CIBJO President, Gaetano Cavalieri, in establishing guidelines to ensure that all diamond grading laboratories are properly equipped with the technology and expertise necessary to ensure detection and full disclosure of all treatments, simulants, and synthetic diamonds. IDMA also welcomed the Diamond Manufacturers Association of Canada as a full member. The IDMA presidents invited all new manufacturing centers to submit an application for membership. In other issues, the IDMA presidents discussed and reviewed the three year report of the Kimberly Process Secretariat and KP compliance. In addition, IDMA president, Jeffrey Fischer, repeated the organization’s support for the WFDB Mark, and reiterated IDMA’s confidence that the bourses will back the Mark with all the power required to ensure its credibility.

Date: 2007-07-10 Time: 17.25 PM

» Diamond derivatives brought under the spotlight in Antwerp

Source: AFNS The possibility of diamonds being traded as a commodity by the investment community was raised once again in two seminars conducted in Antwerp at the end of June. Both seminars addressed the subject of diamond derivatives, which unlike financial instruments such as stocks and bonds, usually involves a contract rather than an asset. Trading in derivatives involves a promise to convey ownership of the asset, rather than the asset itself. The first seminar, which took place on June 27 at the Beurs voor Diamanthandel, featured Martin Rapaport. Delivering what he described as a “State of the Diamond Industry” address, he explained that he currently is seeking approval from the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission to start the world's first diamond-futures contracts. In his presentation, Rapaport emphasized that diamond stakeholders, especially small to medium size firms, will benefit from the proposal. "We're going to produce something like a commodities contract for diamonds,” said Rapaport, who added, “We will be pushing pricing transparency to a level it's never been to before.” Rapaport first plans create a traded cash index for one carat diamonds. He will begin operation with weekly Internet auctions, for individual polished diamonds of between 1 carat and 1.2 carats, end higher end colors, clarities and cut. A chart of prices for the various grades would produce a single futures price, with a cash settlement each month. "It's very much the same way as you have the Dow Jones Industrial Average from individual stocks," he said. The second seminar took place June 28 at the AWDC headquarters. It included a working panel established by PolishedPrices.com group, which also is investigating the start of a diamond derivatives market, and currently is holding talks with leading operators in the commodities and futures market, such as the London Metal Exchange and ICAP, the interdealer group, the Chicago Board of Trade and Cargill. PolishedPrices.com’s panel was created in December, following the launch of a discussion paper for diamond derivatives, which it compiled in collaboration with ABN AMRO Bank, ICICI Bank of India and Bank Leumi of Israel. The discussion paper later was presented to the International Swaps and Derivatives Association (ISDA), which is the largest global financial trade association representing participants in the privately negotiated derivatives industry. Charles Wyndham, founder of PolishedPrices, said that the working panel needs to establish the terms of a derivatives contract, answering questions about its size, certification and the issue of physical delivery or not. He predicted that such contracts would available for purchase within a year. “The first conclusion is that derivatives are absolutely inevitable,'' he stated. While the possibility of diamonds being used as an investment tool is clearly causing anxiety in the industry, Loet Kniphorst, the global head of ABN AMRO diamond and jewelry group in Antwerp sees a definite opportunity. “The commercial funding being done by banks to [the] diamond industry has doubled in the past five years,” he noted, as quoted by the Financial Times. “The interest of banks [in promoting derivatives] is that it will mitigate some of the risks and will allow our clients to have a more rational behavior.” Freddy Hanard, CEO of the AWDC, also see diamond derivatives as possibly being advantageous to the industry. "A contract would give dealers with large stocks the chance to limit their risk," he said during a press conference after the June 28 seminar.

Date: 2007-07-09 Time: 10.23 AM

» Alrosa sells 21,000 carats of large stones for $45.2 million

Source: AFNS At its recent 22nd auction of “special size” diamonds, Russian diamond mining monopoly Alrosa sold 21,000 carats of large diamonds, raising a total of more than $45.2 million. The largest stone sold at the auction weighed in at 135.46 carats, and there were 15 other stones weighing more than 50 carats apiece. In all, 165 parcels of stones were sold to winning bidders chosen from among 62 companies from Russia, Israel, Belgium, India, the United Arab Emirates, the United States and Lebanon. These auctions are restricted to stones weighing 10.8 carats or more apiece. The next one will be held at the end of June.

Date: 2007-07-08 Time: 13.10 PM

» Tanzania establishing mineral offices

Source: AFNS Tanzania’s government has announced that it plans to set up mineral offices for each of the country’s mining regions, now that government-sponsored geological studies have shown that vast quantities of mineral resources can be exploited. Deputy Minister of Energy and Minerals William Ngelejato, who announced the plan on June 22, said diamonds and gold are among the minerals to be organized by these offices. Tanzania is the site of the Mwadui Williamson Mine, a huge diamond mine that is a 75-25 partnership between De Beers and the government. The mine produces mainly lower quality stones.

Date: 2007-07-07 Time: 09.15AM

» South Africa says no income tax break from diamond levy

Source: AFNS South African diamond mining companies that are subject to the new 5 percent diamond export levy because they are not “beneficiating” enough stones to the domestic polishing industry will not be allowed to write this expense off against their income taxes, South African Minister of Finance Trevor Manuel told the National Assembly. Some Treasury officials had backed the industry’s call for the tax break, but Manuel said it did not make sense since the levy is supposed to be punitive in nature. Trevor also said that the reduction in the threshold required for a company to qualify as a large diamond producer was a tightening of requirements, not a concession to the industry. The threshold has been set at R3 billion a year ($420 million), instead of R5 billion ($700 million). Large producers must beneficiate 40 percent of their diamonds to domestic manufacturers, while medium-sized ones must beneficiate 15 percent. Manuel said that while the reduction of levy to 5 percent from 15 percent would help reduce the incentive to smuggle diamonds out of the country.

Date: 2007-07-06 Time: 07.32AM

» Paz reelected Israel Diamond Exchange president

Source: AFNS Avi Paz was unanimously elected to a second term as president of the Israel Diamond Exchange at the bourse’s 58th annual general meeting in June. Elections for the bourse’s board of directors took place the following day, with 26 candidates running for 16 seats. In his annual report, Paz promised to continue his efforts to promote and maintain the Israeli diamond industry’s status as world leader. He noted that during his first term of office, the amount of rough imported into Israel increased significantly. “During the past two years, we have created a positive climate for foreign companies to invest in Israel,” Paz said. “Just recently, the State Bank of India opened its first branch in the Israel Diamond Exchange complex. It is my hope that other foreign and Israeli banks will follow.” Paz vowed to fight alongside the Israel Diamond Manufacturers association against De Beers’ decision to close down the Israeli offices of Diamdel, its subsidiary for selling rough to companies too small to be sightholders. Paz highlighted plans to expand the Israel Diamond Exchange so that additional companies can open businesses within the complex.

Date: 2007-07-05 Time: 07.30AM

» Weak start for Indian diamond industry in new fiscal year

Source: AFNS India’s diamond industry suffered a weak start to its new fiscal year in April, with net polished diamond exports falling 2.9 percent to $561.32 million, according to the country’s Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council. India’s net rough diamond imports crept up 2 percent to $758.22 million, a disappointment given intensive government and private efforts to diversify the sources of rough the industry can count on. The news was more positive for the broader Indian gem and jewelry industry, which saw exports rise 10.8 percent to $1.23 billion. The enormous size of the country’s domestic gem and jewelry market was underscored, as imports rose 16 percent to $1.17 billion. The country also exported $16.99 million of colored gemstones, a 22 percent increase.

Date: 2007-07-04 Time: 12.25 PM

» Cavanagh retires as DTC sales director

Source: AFNS Des Cavanagh, sales director of the Diamond Trading Company (DTC), will retire at the end of September, DTC Managing Director Varda Shine said. No replacement has yet been announced, but it is expected soon. Cavanagh has worked for De Beers since 1977, first as a diamond sorter and valuer. By the late 1990s, he had risen to managing director of the Diamdel Group, the arm of De Beers that is responsible for selling rough to companies too small to be DTC sightholders, but is now being downsized. In 2004, Cavanagh was appointed Executive Director of Purchasing at DTC, and then replaced Shine as sales director when she became managing director in 2005.

Date: 2007-07-03 Time: 09.56 AM

» Bharat Diamond Bourse to open later this year

Source: AFNS Following years of anticipation and repeated delays, India’s Bharat Diamond Bourse is to open for full-scale operations in October or November, during the important Hindu festival of Diwali, said its President, Anoop Mehta. The timing is intended to help diamantaires shift their businesses there, he said. Mehta said that 90 percent of the country’s vast diamond business will operate through the bourse in some way. The Bharat Diamond Bourse will be in the Bandra-Kurla Complex, a business district in the suburbs of Mumbai (Bombay). More than 30,000 people are expected to pass through it each day.

Date: 2007-07-02 Time: 12.25 PM

» De Beers faces possible strike in South Africa

Source: AFNS De Beers is facing a possible strike in South Africa due to a wage dispute that would affect De Beers Consolidated Mines. The company offered a 7 percent wage increase on June 19, but the National Union of Mineworkers says this is insufficient and has filed an official complaint, the first prerequisite to launching a legal strike. The union is looking for an 11 percent wage hike. Before any strike can occur, the union and management are required to meet with government mediators.

Date: 2007-07-01 Time: 09.56 AM

» Alrosa president outlines new marketing strategy

Source: AFNS Alrosa will reduce the number of companies to which it sells rough diamonds, and market 80 percent of its stones to the remaining select list of large firms in deals to be struck in Moscow, company President Sergei Vybornov said. This could include De Beers, Vybornov said, since even though Alrosa is not supposed to sell any rough to De Beers after the end of 2008 under an antitrust ruling by the European Commission, the EC’s writ does not extend to Moscow. Outside experts doubted Vybornov’s interpretation. Other prospective major customers for Alrosa’s rough include Smolensk Kristall, the Russian diamond polishing company, and Ruiz Diamonds, owned by Israeli diamond mogul Lev Leviev. The remaining 20 percent of Alrosa’s rough would be sold by the company’s sales offices in Israel, Belgium, New York and elsewhere. Alrosa’s largest shareholder is the Russian government.

Date: 2007-06-30 Time: 12.25 PM

» WFDB resolves to upgrade federation’s operation and infrastructure

Source: AFNS Leaders of the 26 diamond exchanges that are members of the World Federation of Diamond Bourses have wrapped up their meeting at the 2007 Presidents Meeting in Amsterdam, June 24-26, for the biennial assembly held between World Diamond Congresses. The meeting, which coincided with the 60th anniversary of the establishment of the WFDB in 1947, resolved to upgrade both the operation and administrative infrastructure of the organisation, so that it is better equipped to deal with the challenges of the 21st century business environment, in which it provides an expanded range of services directly to WFDB bourse members. Specifically, it was decided that for the first time the WFDB would employ a full time chief executive, who will operate out of the WFDB Secretary General’s Office in Antwerp, Belgium. The President’s Meeting also decided that the Secretary General’s Office also will be expanded as well, and new revenue streams developed in order to finance the enlarged operation. “I believe that we currently are standing at a threshold, and we are left essentially with two choices,” said WFDB President Ernest Blom, addressing the WFDB presidents. “The first is to cross over and expand the role of the WFDB so that it remains relevant and is able to serve the interests of the bourses and bourse members in the 21st century. The second is stay where we are, but over time lose our relevance and our ability to influence events in our business.” “Clearly our intention should be to move forward, but to do so we will need to make some significant decisions about the way in which we are structured, how we operate and how we are financed,” the WFDB President continued. The WFDB presidents also approved the launch of the WFDB Mark Associate Member programme, by which the right to display a special WFDB Mark will be extended to other participants in the diamond and jewellery industries, on condition that they commit themselves to upholding the principles of the WFCOP. The Presidents Meeting was formally opened on June 25 by the Mayor of Amsterdam, Marius (Job) Cohen, who described to the assembled crowd the central role played by the diamond business in the development and history of his city. In his address to the opening ceremony, Blom paid tribute to the host of the Presidents Meeting, the Vereniging Beurs voor den Diamanthandel, and its president Ed Blik. “This city lays claim to being the home of the first modern diamond exchange, and the foundations that were laid here gave birth to a community that is today 26 bourses strong, with four more applicants currently being processed. What was begun in Amsterdam more than 120 years ago resonates in this hall today. Among the bourses in the process for applying for WFDB membership are Australia, and three other diamond exchanges. A delegation from a bourse in Panama attended the meeting. The General Assembly of the WFDB will meet next in May 2008 at the World Diamond Congress in Shanghai, China. A delegation organised by the Shanghai Diamond.

Date: 2007-06-29 Time: 09.56 AM

» HRD Antwerp engaged in talks about gemmological facility in China

Source: AFNS HRD Antwerp has signed a memorandum of understanding that sets out a possible cooperation with Worldmart Jewelry & Gems Emporium in Panyu, China. This happened in the presence of Mr Tan Ying-Hua, Party Secretary of the Panyu District Government of China and prominent members of the diamond and jewellery community from Belgium and China. Worldmart has recently engaged in talks with HRD Antwerp to establish a functional gemmological service centre in Panyu. This centre may consist of a school that will cater for the training needs of the growing diamond and jewellery market in China. The HRD Antwerp educational programme may also be supported by a ‘fast track’ service for diamond certification in Antwerp and an expert facility in Panyu. “We are looking forward to a cooperation with one of the leading industry organizations in Panyu and to further extend the opportunities for the HRD certificates and courses in one of the fastest growing markets today”, says Georges Brys, General Manager of HRD Antwerp NV. “We are very happy to profit from Antwerp’s world famous expertise and know how in the field of education and certification”, adds Mr Chen, Chairman of Worldmart Jewelry & Gem Emporium. Worldmart is a materials trading and service platform dedicated to the support of the Chinese jewellery industry which is located largely at Panyu and its vicinity. HRD Antwerp NV is the recently created commercial subsidiary of the Antwerp World Diamond Centre (AWDC), the private foundation formerly known as the Hoge Raad voor Diamant (HRD). HRD Antwerp operates five services : HRD Diamond Lab, which issues one of the world’s most respected diamond certificates, the HRD Precious Stones Lab; HRD Education; HRD Equipment and HRD Research. The HRD Antwerp Diamond Lab is the first ISO-certified lab.

Date: 2007-06-28 Time: 08.45 AM

» Helzberg Diamonds gets lost bag of diamond jewelry back

Source: AFNS Thanks to an honest ramp agent at Kansas City International Airport, Helzberg Diamonds, New York City, has back in its possession a lost bag of diamond jewelry. Robert Lewis, a ramp agent for Midwest Airlines, found the cargo bag with 40 pounds of weddings rings, bands, jewelry sets and loose diamonds worth $266,000 lying in the street and turned it over to the police. Helzberg CEO Marvin Beasley indicated that the company will reward Lewis.

Date: 2007-06-27 Time: 13.11 PM

» Alrosa planning move into retail outlets

Source: AFNS diamond mining giant Alrosa is mulling a move downstream with the establishment of a chain of diamond jewelry stores in a move to boost diamond demand. The Russian newspaper Vedomosty reported that Alrosa plans to invest $50 million in setting up the high-end retail operation. Vedomosty reports that Alrosa is looking into jewelry lines for men, women and children, with prices starting at $800. Vedomosty quoted Alrosa president Sergey Vybornov as saying that Alrosa could establish 50 shops in Moscow and the country’s other main cities within a period of five years. Vybornov also said the products could be made outside of Russia, possibly in Armenia. Alrosa’s plan has already come under attack, with Ararat Evoyan, vice president of the Russian Diamond Manufacturers Association, describing it as a “reckless scheme.” He said that such a project required an investment of more than $50 million.

Date: 2007-06-26 Time: 17.19 PM

» Rosy Blue Group denies synthetic diamonds rumors

Source: AFNS The Rosy Blue Group has issued a statement categorically denying reports from India that it mixes laboratory grown diamonds with natural diamonds. "We know that the rumor started in India and subsequently people have added spice to it, saying that we are buying synthetic diamonds, manufacturing them and mixing them with our product," the company's CEO, Dilip Mehta, told Rapaport News. "We did not pay attention to the rumors for the first four to six weeks, but they have continued so we thought it was about time we put the record straight." In its statement, Rosy Blue said: “We would like to state for the record that we are neither buying nor distributing laboratory grown diamonds. It is categorically false that we are knowingly mixing laboratory grown diamonds with natural diamonds and selling them on as parcels consisting entirely of natural diamonds. “As a founding member of the Council for Responsible Jewellery Practices and adherents to the Diamond Trading Company’s Best Practice Principles as well as Rio Tinto Diamonds’ Business Excellence Model, the Rosy Blue Group considers responsible behaviour and protection of consumer confidence to be top priorities. “The Rosy Blue Group, as a premier diamond company, was built on trust and integrity. Integrity is and always will be a fundamental Rosy Blue principle. We make all necessary product related disclosures at all times. “The Rosy Blue Group will pursue every lawful means available, including lawsuits, to deal with unfounded, deceitful, disparaging and malicious allegations of the Group misrepresenting products or undermining consumer confidence.”

Date: 2007-06-25 Time: 10.23 AM

» IGC Group to build polishing plant in Botswana

Source: AFNS Belgium’s IGC Group of Companies has announced that it is setting up a diamond polishing plant in Botswana. “Next to our state-of-the-art factories in Thailand and Laos we are now opening a factory in this diamond producing country,” Jacques Claes, a company principal, said. IGC, which is a Diamond Trading Company sightholder, has bought a 10,000 square meter site in the Botswanan capital of Gaborone, next to the new DTC/Debswana building, where it will build the new Zebra Diamonds plant. By July, a training unit will be operational. “Opening the training facility with a capacity of 120 polishers in Botswana confirms our group’s vision that manufacturing in producing countries is the future of our industry and of the Botswana people,” Mmoloki George, the general manager of Zebra Diamonds, said.

Date: 2007-06-24 Time: 15.01 PM

» BHP Billiton to use new diamond prospecting method in Angola

Source: AFNS BHP Billiton will use a new method of prospecting for diamond-bearing kimberlite deposits in Angola, said Wayne Pettit, director of the company’s geophysics department. He said the company has used the method in Canada and Brazil as well, and will introduce it in Angola as soon as it can find a big enough helicopter for the necessary equipment. Pettit made the remarks at a recent seminar in Angola entitled “New Technologies and Advanced Methods for Diamond Mining.”

Date: 2007-06-23 Time: 07.30AM

» Australian diamond mining industry sees decline

Source: AFNS Australia produced 3.58 million carats of rough diamonds during the first quarter of 2007, down 31.7 percent from the first quarter of 2006, and a 56 percent fall from the fourth quarter of the year, according to the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics. The reason for the decline was that Western Australia, the location of all the country’s diamond mines, including Rio Tinto’s enormous Argyle Mine, was hit by a series of cyclones. Australian diamond exports, including both industrial and gem diamonds, plummeted 30 percent to $76 million in the first quarter, while imports totaled 789,000 carats worth $106 million, an 8 percent increase in value terms.

Date: 2007-06-22 Time: 10.00 AM

» Prince Philip to lead Belgian trade mission to China

Source: AFNS Belgium’s HRH Prince Philip, Honorary President of the Agency for Foreign Trade, will lead a trade mission to China June 16-26 in which the Antwerp World Diamond Centre (AWDC) will be taking part. The Belgian delegation will visit Beijing, Shenyang, Hong Kong and Shanghai. HRH Princess Mathilde will visit the Beijing University of Clothing Technology, Arts & Crafts Department on June 18. The visit, an initiative of the AWDC, underlines not only the importance of the relationship between the Antwerp diamond industry and China, but also emphasizes the cultural aspect. During the visit, eight unique diamond jewellery creations designed by the Chinese participants in the HRD Awards 2007 competition, A Night at the Opera, will be displayed in the presence of HRH Princess Mathilde. China is an important growth market for the AWDC, with huge potential as a diamond consuming country due to its fast-growing middle class. In 2006, Antwerp’s exports of polished diamonds increased by 36 percent in weight and 54 percent by value. Flanders Investment and Trade Agency predicts that by the end of 2010 China will outshine the USA as the biggest jewellery consuming market in the world. Today, diamond jewellery represents 52 percent of total jewellery sales. The AWDC has already become active in this market and participated in the Shanghai Jewellery Fair last April. In Beijing, HRD Antwerp NV will organize free workshops on Diamond Grading for the students of the Arts and Crafts department of the Beijing University of Clothing Technology.

Date: 2007-06-21 Time: 18.25PM

» DTC’s Shine forecasts fewer sightholders next year

Source: AFNS There will be fewer Diamond Trading Company (DTC) sightholders in the three-year contract period starting April 1, 2008 than the 93 firms that now hold that title, DTC Managing Director Varda Shine told a gathering of diamantaires in Antwerp. Current and would-be sightholders must apply for the next contract period by July. The reason is that the DTC will have less rough to go around due to “beneficiation” efforts in southern Africa—De Beers’s commitment to supply locally mined rough diamonds to the diamond polishing industries in Botswana, Namibia and South Africa, Shine said. Another probable reason why the DTC will have less rough on hand is that Russian monopoly diamond producer Alrosa is required to stop selling De Beers rough after December 31, 2008, due to an antitrust ruling by the European Commission.

Date: 2007-06-20 Time: 11.21AM

» Diamond derivatives on the agenda in Antwerp

Source: AFNS The Antwerp World Diamond Centre has said it will sponsor an international working panel on diamond derivatives at its headquarters in Antwerp on June 28. Representatives of leading financial institutions, financial exchanges and the diamond trade have been invited to discuss contracts for diamond derivatives. Participants include ABN AMRO Bank, India’s ICICI Bank, the Chicago Board of Trade, ISDA, Cargill, Diarough, DD Manufacturing, Eurostar, Pluczenik and Rosy Blue. Derivatives are a type of financial instrument used for other commodities. Diamond industry observers say the idea makes sense due to the uncertain supply situation diamond companies are facing because of the anticipated shortages of rough diamonds along with rapidly growing diamond jewelry markets in India, China and elsewhere.

Date: 2007-06-19 Time: 09.15AM

» HRD Antwerp has signed a memorandum of understanding that sets out a possible cooperation with World

Source: AFNS This happened in the presence of Mr Tan Ying-Hua, Party Secretary of the Panyu District Government of China and prominent members of the diamond and jewellery community from Belgium and China. Worldmart has recently engaged in talks with HRD Antwerp to establish a functional gemmological service centre in Panyu. This centre may consist of a school that will cater for the training needs of the growing diamond and jewellery market in China. The HRD Antwerp educational programme may also be supported by a ‘fast track’ service for diamond certification in Antwerp and an expert facility in Panyu. “We are looking forward to a cooperation with one of the leading industry organizations in Panyu and to further extend the opportunities for the HRD certificates and courses in one of the fastest growing markets today”, says Georges Brys, General Manager of HRD Antwerp NV. “We are very happy to profit from Antwerp’s world famous expertise and know how in the field of education and certification”, adds Mr Chen, Chairman of Worldmart Jewelry & Gem Emporium. Worldmart is a materials trading and service platform dedicated to the support of the Chinese jewellery industry which is located largely at Panyu and its vicinity. HRD Antwerp NV is the recently created commercial subsidiary of the Antwerp World Diamond Centre (AWDC), the private foundation formerly known as the Hoge Raad voor Diamant (HRD). HRD Antwerp operates five services : HRD Diamond Lab, which issues one of the world’s most respected diamond certificates, the HRD Precious Stones Lab; HRD Education; HRD Equipment and HRD Research. The HRD Antwerp Diamond Lab is the first ISO-certified lab.

Date: 2007-06-18 Time: 07.32AM

» Diamonds set off Monaco Grand Prix auto race

Source: AFNS Diamonds made a spectacular showing in advance of the May 27 Grand Prix auto race in Monaco, with Formula One racing champions Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso, both of the McLaren team, showing off diamond-studded racing helmets. The helmets bore the words “Formula ’07” written in white diamonds on the side. The stones were by Steinmetz Diamonds, which sponsors the McLaren racing team. The drivers were each given a $10,000 diamond ring with a tire tread motif to keep. The auto racing champions also posed with a model wearing a necklace set with some $50 million worth of diamonds cut from a 316 carat rough that was the largest stone found at De Beers’s Venetia Mine. The necklace will be sold to the highest bidder if an unspecified reserve price is met. It is dubbed “Ponahalo,” after the Black Economic Empowerment partner and 26 percent stakeholder in De Beers’ South African arm, De Beers Consolidated Mines.

Date: 2007-06-17 Time: 09.56 AM

» Analyst says Amazon.com may start online diamond store

Source: AFNS Amazon.com may build on its success selling jewelry online by opening a separate diamond jewelry website, Douglas Anmuth, an analyst with Lehman Brothers, speculated. If so, that could prove a major challenge for Blue Nile, the leading Internet-based jewelry retailer. Alternatively, Amazon.com could buy out Blue Nile. Amazon.com has offices in the same Seattle office building where Blue Nile has its headquarters, Anmuth noted.

Date: 2007-06-16 Time: 16.30 PM

» Namibian union signs deal with Leviev polishing plant

Source: AFNS The Mine Workers Union of Namibia has signed a labor agreement with Lev Leviev Diamonds, the local polishing plant subsidiary of the Israel-based diamond behemoth. The agreement calls for arbitration of any labor disputes. This follows a work stoppage last year, when about 400 of the company’s 500 employees protested the conditions under which 356 temporary workers were to be turned into permanent employees. The strikers demanded salaries of N$3,500 (U.S.$500) a month, and pay for overtime, Sunday and holiday work. While signing the agreement, union Secretary-General Joseph Hengari expressed concern about a wave of recent dismissals at the polishing plant. But Managing Director Kombadayedu Kapwanga said the fired workers had been caught stealing.

Date: 2007-06-15 Time: 11.21AM

» Rio Tinto, Petra Diamonds interested in Cullinan Mine

Source: AFNS De Beers has prequalified two potential bidders for its Cullinan Mine in South Africa: Rio Tinto and Petra Diamonds. De Beers said in February it is selling the 1.3 million carat a year mine because it is finding it hard to make a profit from it; according to RBC Capital Markets, profits are only 3 percent of revenues there, compared to 88 percent at the Jwaneng Mine in Botswana. The Cullinan Mine’s buyer will have to agree to bringing in a black economic empowerment partner. The mine has only five years of life left, absent an expansion plan such as a $1 billion project De Beers decided against in 2004. Petra Diamonds has set target production of 500,000 carats a year, including 300,000 carats from its South African properties. It is shifting its emphasis from prospecting to production and hopes to bring its Kono project in Sierra Leone into production, according to Chairman Adonis Pouroulis. Rio Tinto produces about 8 percent of the world’s supply of diamonds, mainly through its Argyle Mine in Western Australia. The company also holds a 78 percent stake in the Murowa Mine in Zimbabwe, but production there has been declining amid that country’s economic and political crisis. Rio Tinto Diamonds CEO Keith Johnson said Murowa will be much bigger mine one day.

Date: 2007-06-14 Time: 09.15AM

» Man convicted of using 43-carat diamond in laundering scheme

Source: AFNS An Ohio businessman has been convicted of trying to use a 43 carat yellow diamond in a money-laundering scheme, but his lawyer says he was entrapped by the government and that he will appeal, reports the Akron (Ohio) Beacon Journal. Paul Monea, 60, was convicted of attempting to sell the diamond and an estate once owned by boxer Mike Tyson to an undercover FBI agent who was pretending to represent drug dealers who wanted to launder their ill-gotten gains. He faces up to 80 years in prison. Codefendant Mickey Miller, a car dealer, pled guilty and testified against Monea at his trial in federal U.S. District Court in Akron, Ohio. Monea and Miller were promised $19.5 million and a speedboat in exchange for the diamond and estate. Monea previously served prison time for tax evasion related to his sales of a fraudulent pain relief device called “the Stimulator.” The diamond, which is said to be worth up to $15 million, and the land are forfeited to the government, the jury ruled.

Date: 2007-06-13 Time: 07.32AM

» Karelian Diamonds hopeful about prospecting in Finland

Source: AFNS Karelian Diamonds, based in Dublin, Ireland, is hopeful that it will find a diamond-bearing kimberlite source within a geographical feature called the Karelian Craton that extends from Finland east into neighboring Russia. The company’s prospecting operations are restricted to Finland. Dr. Stephen Grimmer, the firm’s senior geologist, told a recent mining conference that the company has analyzed data from almost 500 Finnish sites and has found diamond indicator minerals— G9 and G10 pyrope garnets and a lot of chromite grains. Karelian Diamonds next hopes to evaluate the kimberlite pipes in the region and conduct a bulk sample to see if it contains diamonds, probably next year. Grimmer said that Finland’s status as an advanced European country with a good transportation network makes it easy to work in. Dublin-based Conroy Diamonds & Gold has a 62 percent stake in Karelian Diamonds, Gartmore Fund Managers has an 11 percent stake and less than 27 percent is publicly traded on London’s Alternative Investment Market. The company’s market capitalization is about £3.47 million ($6.88 million).

Date: 2007-06-12 Time: 07.30AM

» Blue Nile introduces fancy color diamond collection

Source: AFNS Blue Nile, the online diamond and jewelry retailer, has announced the availability of a collection of fancy color diamonds, including rare red and pink stones. Approximately 90 fancy color diamonds worth a total of $4.5 million are available to begin with on the Blue Nile site, in colors such as orange, pink, cognac, yellow, green and red. In addition, Blue Nile says it has access to more than 1,000 fancy color stones not displayed on the site, which can be used to fill individual customer requests. The company says it is offering substantial savings. Prices for a fancy color diamond at Blue Nile start at $2,250 for a 0.5 carat cognac diamond. A green diamond retails for $160,380, a 0.55 carat red diamond for $350,000 and a 3.65 carat pink diamond for $650,000. Buyers can choose to have their fancy color diamond set in one of the more than 100 ring designs, or in pendants or diamond earrings.

Date: 2007-06-11 Time: 12.25 PM

» Zimbabwe parliament addresses disarray in mining sector

Source: AFNS Members of the Zimbabwean parliament recently discussed the disarray in the country’s diamond and gold sectors. Joel Gabbuza, chairman of the Committee on Mines, Energy and Tourism, called for the establishment of a committee that would represent all stakeholders in setting diamond and gold prices, which the official Reserve Bank has failed to do. He also said the dispute over the diamond fields at Chiadzwa/Marange must be resolved. The government had revoked the license of the U.K. company Africa Consolidated Resources and turned the site over to the state-owned Zimbabwe Mining Development Corporation. Local residents also claim the Chiadzwa/Marange site, and much unauthorized digging has taken place. Gabbuza said the Zimbabwe Mining Development Corporation has not produced a single stone anywhere since January, and has failed at such locales as Kamativi. Another committee member, Pearson Mungofa, said the police and Reserve Bank officials have not been forthcoming with the names of prominent diamond smugglers as a way of stopping the widespread phenomenon. Gabbuza said the Minerals Marketing Corporation of Zimbabwe must provide an accurate accounting of diamond production lest the country end up blacklisted by the Kimberley Process and unable to export its diamonds.

Date: 2007-06-10 Time: 09.56 AM

» Belgian Diamond Club unveiled in southern China

Source: AFNS The Belgian Consulate-General in Guangzhou, southern China has opened a new Belgian Diamond Club of China, designed to help Belgian diamantaires negotiate the complexities of the Chinese market and to help Chinese companies with diamond subsidiaries in Belgium. The center will seek to foster the sharing of goods, know-how, technical skills and business opportunities, as well as helping China bring its diamond standards into line with those prevailing in the rest of the world. The announcement of the new center was made on May 18, in tandem with the opening ceremony for Guangzhou’s new Worldmart Jewelry & Gems Emporium. The event drew close to 100 diamond trade representatives from India, South Africa, Hong Kong and China.

Date: 2007-06-09 Time: 16.30 PM

» Official Launch of AWDC and HRD Antwerp NV Announced at Press Conference in Antwerp

Source: AFNS A new era in the history of Antwerp’s illustrious diamond sector formally began today with the official announcement of the disbanding of the old Diamond High Council (HRD), and the establishment in its stead of a foundation called the Antwerp World Diamond Centre (AWDC), which will be responsible for the advocacy and defense of the Belgian diamond industry and trade in general, and an independent company, HRD Antwerp NV, which will encompass the old organisation’s commercial divisions. The announcement was made at a press conference in the AWDC/HRD headquarters by CEO Freddy Hanard, which was attended by Fientje Moerman, the Vice-Minister-President of the Flemish Government and Flemish Minister for Economy, Enterprise, Science, Innovation and Foreign Trade; and by Ludo Van Campenhout, Antwerp’s City Alderman with responsibility for the diamond sector. “One cannot overstate how important this restructuring is for the two organisations,” Hanard said. “In the mod