Lab-grown Diamonds 

1. Ada Diamonds discovers undisclosed mined diamonds in parcels of Lab-grown

Stories about Lab-grown diamonds being mixed with mined diamonds are not new, but in a first of its kind incident, San Francisco-based Lab-grown diamond jewelry retailer, Ada Diamonds discovered undisclosed mined diamonds in parcels of Lab-grown diamonds. Ada Diamonds found numerous melee stones of 0.01 to 0.06 carat, DEF, VS+ and fancy shaped, detected in 2 separate batches and received from more than 1 supplier. On their discovery they were sent to Gemological Institute of America (GIA), who subsequently confirmed this mixing. We reached out to Jason Payne – Founder & CEO of Ada Diamonds to find out more about the discovery of these undisclosed mined diamonds. For the excerpts of the e-mail interview, Read more…

 Conflict Diamonds 

2. Traffickers find new ways to trade conflict diamonds
Conflict diamonds have been a matter of concern for a very long time. Irrespective of the various bans and regulations imposed to curb the issue of conflict diamonds, traffickers seem to have remained unaffected by them. In a recent discovery by Global Witness, an investigator found out about a group of traffickers who have been taking help of social media like Facebook and WhatsApp to illegally trade diamonds from banned areas of Central African Republic (CAR), through Cameroon. On the other hand, to prevent such practices, Council of European Union had frozen assets of two companies – Badica and Kardiam who were found to have traded diamonds irrespective of the CAR ban. Read more…

 Environment 

3. Can De Beers really achieve carbon-neutral diamond mining?
De Beers in collaboration with some internationally renowned scientists are working on minimising the carbon emissions during diamond mining. They plan to lock the carbon dioxide in a safe, nontoxic and carbonated material form. However, environmental history of De Beers tells a different story. De Beers was taken to court by The Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society’s Wildlands League when it failed to report the mercury and methylmercury levels at the Victor mine site in northern Ontario. Also, De Beers had to close down its Snap Lake mine when Mackenzie Valley Land and Water Board protested against the excessive discharge of chloride content into lake. It has also been observed that De Beers with certain other miners hardly conform to any sustainability standards and even if they do, the data provided is superficial and group-wide rather than publishing a mine-wise report. Moreover, De Beers is also exploring the ocean beds for diamond mining, when destroying the fragile ecosystem on land was not enough. Read more…

 Diamond Industry 

4. Washington Companies to acquire Dominion Diamond Corp.
After an offer by Dennis Washington to acquire Dominion Diamond at USD 13.50 per share in March, which Dominion rejected saying it was unacceptable and undervalued the firm, it has finally got a buyer. A subsidiary of Washington Companies has agreed to acquire Dominion’s all outstanding common shares for USD 14.25, USD 0.75 higher than the previous bid. Read more…

5. Gem Diamonds unearths a 126 carat diamond from Letseng Mine
Letseng mine, run by Gem Diamonds in a recently discovery unearthed a 126 carat type IIa D colored diamond. In the past, Letseng has mined many white gem quality diamonds, making it the highest dollar per carat kimberlite operation. While, only around 30 percent of diamonds produced are of gem quality and only 1.8 percent out of them of the purest form, Gem Diamonds’ recent discovery have breathed a fresh lease of life into the miner and the diamond industry. Read more…

 Diamonds 

6. No buyers for the largest uncut diamond ‘Lesedi La Rona’
The second largest rough diamond after Cullinan is Lesedi La Rona. It was unearthed in November 2015 by Lucara Diamond Corp at its Karowe mine in Botswana. It is currently the largest uncut diamond at 1,109 carats. Attempt to sell this diamond at Sotheby’s auction house in London last summer had been unsuccessful. While there have been a lot of options to cut, polish and sell the diamond, Lucara’s chief executive, William Lamb thinks otherwise and isn’t in the opinion to cut or polish the stone. Read more…