Results from Mountain Province Diamonds on Q4 and the full year (2021) reveal the miner, operating the Gahcho Kué mine in the Northwest Territories are in line with production guidance (1% below) while preliminary cost per tonne was down slightly. The miner sold 808,739 cts for US$65,7m in Q4 in Antwerp, at an impressive average of US$83/ct, well above the US$65/ct achieved in the same period in 2020.

Australian mining company Rio Tinto announced they appointed Angela Bigg as president and chief operating officer of the Diavik diamond mine. She will be the first female to lead the mine and its 1,100 employees. She joined the Diavik team in November 2017 as vice president, Finance. Angela Bigg will succeed Richard Storrie, who left the company after 26 years.

De Beers Group announced they extended their existing sales agreement with the Government of the Republic of Botswana for the sale of Debswana’s rough diamond production until the end of June 2022.

The agreement was due to expire at the end of 2020 but was already extended for a year because of continuing logistical challenges due to Covid-19. This second extension period will provide both parties with some extra time to complete discussions about the renewal of the contract after the good progress made in 2021.

Petra Diamonds announced the results of Tender cycle 3 of FY 2022. The company sold 885,136 carats for a total of US$ 128.3 million. The tender cycle included a 295.8 carat white stone from the Cullinan mine, which was sold for US$ 13.9 million, and the first parcel sold on behalf of Williamson Diamonds Limited since they restarted operations.

Okavango Diamond Company (ODC), the state-owned rough diamond marketing company entitled to sell a portion of the country's rough resources outside of the De Beers joint venture, has announced a record-breaking revenue for the first eight months of the year through its sales via Antwerp, amounting to US$830m, a whopping 484% increase compared to the US$181m achieved in 2020 and well beyond the average of US$500min a regular year. 

Lucapa Diamond Company, already operating mines in Angola (Lulo) and Lesotho (Mothae) has finalized the acquisition of the Northern Territory (Australia) Merlin Diamond Project through its subsidiary Australian Natural Diamonds.

Russian miner ALROSA reports its preliminary rough and polished sales results for November totaled $334 million, $310 million of rough sales and $24 million of polished sales. This marks a total of $3,915 million for the first eleven months of 2021.

At its most recent December tender in Antwerp at Bonas Group, Mountain Province reports 388,573 carats were sold for a total of US$33.3 million, resulting in an average value of US$86 per carat, continuing the steady improvement through Q4 2021. These proceeds mark an aggregate sales result of US$67.5 million for 808,739 sold carats in the fourth quarter of 2021, equaling an average value of US$83 per carat.

The Antwerp World Diamond (AWDC) and ALROSA renewed their cooperation agreement to further expand and strengthen their relationship over the course of the next years.

Lucapa, Endiama and Rosas & Petalas announced the sale of 6 exceptional Lulo diamonds, weighing 336 carats, for a total sales price of US$12.8 million, representing an average price of US$38,006/carat.

The four large, top-quality white diamonds and two fancy pink diamonds were recovered from the Lulo alluvial mine in Angola and sold in Luanda via international tender by Sodiam E.P, the Angolan State Diamond Marketing Company.

According to the Economic Times India, rough prices have risen significantly in recent days - the article speaks of 5-10% -, as reports of a new variant of the COVID-19 virus cause concerns in Surat and Mumbai over supply of rough diamonds, fearing the omicron variety might impact production in Southern Africa. India's manufacturers are worried as polished prices have not gone up at the same pace as the rough, squeezing profit margins while demand is high. De Beers' representatives in India say it is too early to comment on potential impact on the mining activities. 

Russian miner ALROSA announced they are implementing a new system for their long-term agreements and rough diamond allocation principles. The new system ensures that specifications meet clients’ requirements as closely as possible by taking the specific business needs of each diamond consumer category - diamond cutters, traders and jewelry retailers - into account, in addition to the client’s purchase history.

Petra Diamonds Limited announced the first tender of rough diamonds from the Williamson mine in Tanzania, post the restart of operations, will take place in Antwerp from Friday 19 to Friday 26 November 2021.

A parcel of ca. 26,000 carats is available for sale and includes a 32.32 carat pink stone of exceptional colour and clarity.

Appointments to participate in the tender can be made by contacting Greg Stephenson, Group Head of Sales and Marketing,  +27 836 379 849, diamondsales@petradiamonds.com.

First Element announces it will cooperate with GIA Antwerp, submitting rough diamonds to the GIA Diamond Origin Program, a traceability program to scientifically match a polished natural diamond to its original rough stone, confirming the country of origin information. First Element will offer successful buyers at their tenders to have the rough stones included in the program. First Element “will ensure the implementation process of the diamonds into the GIA Diamond Origin Program will run very smoothly, thus optimizing the experience for the client.”

On the sidelines of the KP Plenary session, Russia and Belgium signed a memorandum of understanding on the electronic exchange of the Kimberley Process (KP) Certificates. The MOU was signed by Marc Michielsen, Belgian Ambassador in Moscow and Vladimir Bulavin, Head of the Federal Customs Service of Russia. In addition, the signing was attended by Alexey V. Moiseev, Russian Vice Minister of Finance, and the Federal Public Service Economy of Belgium, represented by Belgian Ambassador Michielsen.

Choron Group announced a large tender of rough diamonds sourced from Angola will be hosted exclusively in Antwerp, Belgium.

The tender will be organized together with Bonas Couzyn, who will be hosting the event from Monday 15th November 2021 till Thursday 25th November 2021.

The tender has close to 48,000 carats with an estimated value of USD 45,000,000 including over 60 single stones.

From 8 – 12 November, the 2021 Kimberley Process (KP) Plenary takes place as a hybrid event, combining in-person meetings in Moscow with videoconferences by delegates from around the world. During the opening session, WDC President Edward Asscher reasserted the need for KP members to agree to expand the conflict diamond definition in order to support long-term consumer confidence. Mr.

First Element Diamond Services announced strong October tender results. Both tenders, the first one in Antwerp and the second one in Johannesburg, showed high demand and strong interest with over 198 companies with 322 buyers attending the viewings in Antwerp. Over 700 parcels were sold for a total amount of around $30 million. Parcel highlights of the tender included a 16-carat stone sold for over $110,000 per carat.

Lucara Diamond Corp. released its Q3 2021 figures, demonstrating a strong performance in the third quarter of 2021, with strong financial and operational performance. The total revenue of $72.7 million,  including diamonds sold through regular tenders, the Clara platform and the HB Antwerp agreement, marks a 57% increase over the previous quarter and results in an average price per carat sold of $619.2.

Gem Diamonds, leading producer of high-value stones, announced they recovered 23,435 carats during Q3 2021 (July-September 2021), resulting in 82,266 266 carats recovered for the year to date, an increase of 14% compared to 2020. The generated revenue in Q3 2021 amounted to US$ 47.3 million, achieving an average price of US$ 1,589 per carat.

Rio Tinto proudly announced its 2021 Argyle Pink Diamonds™ Tender collection of 70 rare pink and red diamonds delivered the most significant set of record-breaking results in its 38-year history. Just like the first Argyle Pink Diamonds Tender was held in Antwerp in 1984, the most anticipated diamond sale in the world had its final curtain call after 38 years in the city of diamonds, Antwerp.

September sales of Russian miner ALROSA net 298 million USD, including proceeds from rough diamonds sales of $289 million and polished diamond sales of $9 million, resulting in a total of $3,274 million diamond sales during the first nine months of 2021.

According to the Namibian, which reported on the accusations of continued underselling of Namibia's rough diamonds via Namdia to Dubai just two weeks ago, local, Namibian authorities last Wednesday blocked a Namdia shipment of rough diamonds worth US$10m.

Grib Diamonds reported another excellent sale in Antwerp. The company sold about 550 carats with a revenue of approximately 45 million US dollars.

“Overall prices for Grib rose 5-7%, with particular strength seen in larger yellow diamonds and small goods below 3 gr. +2 carat gem white goods were notable for the decreases in the price of high single digits to low double digits”, according to Grib Diamonds.

Grib’s next auction is planned for mid-October.

In the presence of the representatives of several diamond producing, trading and manufacturing hubs, including Belgian Ambassador Jozef Smets, Angolan President Lourenço last week officially opened the Saurimo Diamond Development hub, aimed at reinforcing development and employment in Angola’s diamond-rich Lunda Sul province. The large Diamond Hub site already hosts three diamond manufacturing plants and will be completed with other diamond related services and training centers, as well as banks, restaurants, shops, convention centers and residential areas.

Lucara announced the recovery of a 62.7-carat fancy pink diamond from the Karowe Diamond Mine located in Botswana. The diamond entitled “Boitumelo” meaning Joy, is a high-quality, fancy pink, Type IIa gem. In addition, a 2.21-carat fancy pink diamond of similar quality was recovered during the same production period, along with two pink gems of similar color and purity weighing 11.17 and 5.05 carats respectively. The 62.7-carat diamond represents the largest fancy pink gem recovered in Botswana and one of the largest rough pink diamonds on record.

Lucapa diamond company announced a strong first half of 2021 in its Q2 results. Both Lulo (Angola) and Mothae (Lesotho) processed record Q2 volumes and record half-year revenues. 

Lulo continued exceptional large stone recoveries, including three +100 carat founds, and its single largest sale ever of A$28.3 million, representing an average price of US$34,548/carat, led to record revenues for the first half-year of 2021. Mothae also noted exceptional large stone recoveries and regular sales also led to record revenues for the first half of 2021.

In May and June, ALROSA held auctions in Antwerp, Dubai and Ramat Gan, selling over 400 lots weighing almost 6,600 carats. The total revenue equaled US$32.4 million.

Under Russian law, ALROSA sells special-size diamonds at international auctions only. These auctions allowed clients to purchase goods they need despite international travel restrictions.

ALROSA has launched the new phase of its digital and operational transformation intended to improve the efficiency of its production assets. The project sets out to combine the management teams of the Mirny and Nyurba Divisions. This move would enable the Company to manage its assets more efficiently and free up part of the management team by combining the engineering and supporting functions. The core production personnel will remain unaffected.

Lucapa, Endiama and Sodiam announced the sale of seven exceptional stones, weighing 620 carats, for a total sales price of $21,4 million, representing an average price of $34,548/carat. The large, top-quality and fancy colored diamonds, recovered at Lulo this year, were sold via tender organized by Sodiam in Luanda.

On Monday 21 June, Grib Diamonds sold over $40 million rough diamonds of Russian origin through its online, ascending clock auction software in Antwerp.

According to Grib Diamonds, all lots of 520k carats were sold and prices hit record levels in every category. Especially the smaller goods marked strong price increases.

Grib’s next sale of Russian and Angolan goods is scheduled to start on 12 July.

Earlier this year Petra Diamonds announced the recovery of a 39.34 carat Type IIb blue diamond from the Cullinan mine in South Africa. The diamond, known for its exceptional quality in terms of both its color and clarity, is currently in Antwerp for viewing, is expected to yield upwards of US$1 million per carat. Next week it will continue on its world tour till early July. Bidding will close on Monday, July 12.

May sales of Russian miner ALROSA net 365 million USD, including proceeds from rough diamond sales of $346 million and polished diamond sales of $19 million, resulting in a total of $1,926 million diamond sales during the first five months of 2021. 

Lucara Diamonds announced the recovery of a 470 carat top light brown clivage diamond from its Karowe Mine in Botswana. This recovery headlines a series of top-quality gem and clivage quality diamond recoveries during a recent production run, including 5 other diamonds of 265ct, 183ct, 161ct, 116ct and 106ct, and 13 diamonds between 50 and 100 carats.

Grib Diamonds’ Ascending Clock Spot Auction of Friday 4 June in Antwerp was very successful. They sold 38,000 carats of Angolan Run of Mine goods for $27 million, achieving high prices across all categories of diamonds. 134 diamond companies worldwide bid in the auction on over 100 Lots. Grib Diamonds received nearly 1,800 bids.

The next viewing for Grib Diamonds starts on Wednesday 9 June. 520,000 carats of Russian production for the Grib Diamond Mine are being auctioned, with the auction itself on 18 June.

In April this year, Petra Diamonds announced the recovery of a 39.34 ct. Type IIb blue diamond of exceptional quality in terms of both color and clarity at the Cullinan mine in South Africa. The stone will be sold via a special tender with viewings starting in Antwerp from 14 – 18 June 2021, followed by Dubai from 22 – 23 June, Hong Kong from 29 – 30 June and New York from 7 – 9 July 2021.

The Angolan state National Diamond Trading Company SODIAM announced its 3^rd rough diamond tender in Luanda, Angola in June 2021. The sale will include a selection of exceptional Single Stones from the Catoca, Luele, Lulo and Uari mine, as well as an assorted run-of-mine cut across all sizes of (the highly expected) Luele Kimberlite production. The total value of tendered goods is an estimated 27 – 30 million USD.

Viewings will take place from 9 to 23 June 2021 at the SODIAM viewings facility in Luanda. Bid submission ends on 24 June 2021, 11:00 Luanda time.

Rio Tinto unveiled a preview of its final showcase of rare Argyle pink, red and blue diamonds from its iconic mine. As mining ceased at Argyle on 3 November 2020, the 2021 Argyle Pink Diamonds Tender showcases the final collection from the last year of Argyle operations, with viewings set to take place in Perth, Sydney, Singapore and Antwerp over the course of the next three months.