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DIAM Diamond Cap

0.1005
0.00 (0.00%)
28 Mar 2024 - Closed
Delayed by 15 minutes
Share Name Share Symbol Market Type Share ISIN Share Description
Diamond Cap LSE:DIAM London Ordinary Share IM00B1Y64R53 ORD USD0.01
  Price Change % Change Share Price Bid Price Offer Price High Price Low Price Open Price Shares Traded Last Trade
  0.00 0.00% 0.1005 - 0.00 00:00:00
Industry Sector Turnover Profit EPS - Basic PE Ratio Market Cap
0 0 N/A 0

Diamond Cap Share Discussion Threads

Showing 76 to 90 of 100 messages
Chat Pages: 4  3  2  1
DateSubjectAuthorDiscuss
10/2/2011
15:59
The following charts show the top ten diamond producing countries by volume and the top ten countries when you look at it from the value of production.

The top ten producing countries, that account for over 80% of the world's rough diamonds.

Rank Country % of
Worldwide Production Rank Country Value in USD
1 Russia 22.40% 1 Botswana $2,940
2 Botswana 19.90% 2 Russia $1,989
3 Congo (Dem. Rep.) 18.60% 3 Canada $1,646
4 Australia 13.20% 4 South Africa $1,458
5 South Africa 9.10% 5 Angola $1,300
6 Canada 8.10% 6 Congo (Dem. Rep.) $790
7 Angola 4.80% 7 Namibia $698
8 Namibia 1.30% 8 Australia $343
9 Ghana 0.60% 9 Other $132
10 Brazil 0.40% 10 Brazil $35

/see:

energyi
20/4/2009
06:27
Feature on Zim diamonds this morning - Radio 4 - should be on iplayer (started approx 7.20 ofr 5 minutes)
bageo
18/11/2008
09:56
November 18, 2008

Diamonds no longer an investor's best friend as recession removes sparkle
Mr T brought bling to the small screen, but the downturn demands a more demure outlook, affecting diamond sales

Catherine Boyle
Diamonds may be for ever, but their high price is not, as recession starts to hit even the richest. Gem Diamonds, the London-listed miner, said yesterday that it may make a loss this year because of a sharp fall in diamond prices over the past two months.

Shares in Gem plunged by 38 per cent to 213½p after the company said that it has had to stop some exploration activities in the Democratic Republic of Congo and that it may suspend output at an Indonesian mine. The average price per carat for a rough diamond from its mine has fallen this year from about $2,500 (£1,670) to about $1,400.

Meanwhile, leading players in the diamond industry, such as De Beers, which mines almost half the world's diamonds, and Alrosa, the Russian mining group, gathered in Antwerp, the world's diamond capital, to try to tackle falling prices.

Prices of polished diamonds have fallen by 10.8 per cent since August, according to the PolishedPrices.com diamond prices index. At the rough diamond end of the market, in which miners sell to diamondaires, industry-watchers are talking about even greater falls as people pay less for jewellery and diamondaires find it harder to borrow cash to buy gems.

Related Links
Laurence Graff: still rolling with stones
Diamonds beginning to lose their sparkle
Gold price rises 10% as investors flee to safety
With ABN Amro Diamond Bank, the diamond industry's biggest creditor, in the hands of the Belgian Government after Fortis, its parent company, had to be bailed out, credit has dried up. If the $3 billion that ABN used to lend to the industry is no longer available, many of the smaller companies may suffer.

Des Kilalea, an RBC Capital Markets analyst, said that prices for the sort of stones that ordinary consumers might buy could fall by 30 to 40 per cent, with top-end jewels falling even more or being withheld from the market. "These stones are the equivalent of a Picasso or a Renoir – and if you own a Picasso you are not going to sell it at the moment," Mr Kilalea said.

As the United States, which buys about 45 per cent of the world's diamonds, teeters into recession, the industry is waiting to see how Christmas trading, which accounts for 40 per cent of its diamond sales, is affected.

The big players can try to control prices by reducing the amount of diamonds that they mine, but Mr Kilalea said that this would be more difficult to do than during the last long diamond price slump, in the 1980s, because competition regulations now were tougher.

Freddy Hannard, head of the Antwerp World Diamond Centre, said: "The market situation is unprecedented. We are in the midst of a global economic crisis. All of us have felt the pressure . . . no market, no liquidity, no demand and, worst of all, no confidence."

Laurence Graff, chairman and founder of Graff Diamonds, which bought a 4.5 per cent stake in Gem this month, was more confident about the future of the market. The billionaire, who has a necklace called the Lesotho Promise on sale for $75 million, said: "Top-quality gems are rare, hard to find and polish. There will always be a demand for these high and top-quality diamonds, both to be worn and in which to invest. In the short term, their prices may fluctuate, but in the long term they retain their quality, unlike other commodities."

Glen Turner, commercial director of Gem, was optimistic that in the medium to long term demand would become much greater than supply.

The sale of one huge diamond, such as the 478-carat giant that Gem Diamonds found in its Letseng mine this year, can greatly affect a company's results for the quarter.

Sergei Vybornov, the president of Alrosa, said that the company may have to reduce production by up to 40 per cent to ease the glut of rough diamonds on the market.

David Abery, finance director of Petra Diamonds, said: "We are watching this thing develop and it's changing on a daily basis."

Charles Wyndham, of Polished-Prices.com, said: "The diamond industry is a passenger in the train smash that has occurred throughout the world's financial markets and not some lucky 'decoupled' bystander. Everyone is going to be suffering to a greater or lesser extent. We are not at the worst part of the crash yet, which looks likely to come in the first quarter of 2009."

Facet values

- About 20 per cent of mined diamonds are suitable for use in jewellery and are cut, polished, set and sold as jewellery

- Drilling diamonds are embedded in large steel drill bits that drill into rock for wells to find water, oil, and natural gas

- Gemstones are cut and polished using a mixture of oil and diamond powder

- Circular diamond-tipped saws are used in industry and construction

/see:

energyi
23/9/2008
03:37
Diamond found in Lesotho among largest ever: company Sun Sep 21, 10:52 AM ET



LONDON (AFP) - Gem Diamonds, a London-listed mining firm, said on Sunday it had recovered a 478 carat diamond from its mine in Lesotho: the 20th-largest rough diamond ever found.

The discovery of the gem, which the company said had the potential to become one of the largest round-cut diamonds in the world, was made on September 8 at the Letseng mine in Lesotho.

"Preliminary examination of this remarkable diamond indicates that it will yield a record-breaking polished stone of the very best colour and clarity," the company's Chief Executive Clifford Elphick said in a statement.

The diamond, which has not yet been named, has the potential to yield a 150 carat polished stone, a company spokesman said.

/see:

energyi
13/10/2007
22:16
If you thought diamonds were costly, think again – prices are going up
rambutan2
13/10/2007
07:06
Sung Hung Kai Properties has named its new luxury development
in Hong Kong, above Kowloon Station after a diamond, believe it or not!

The Cullinan :

energyi
12/6/2007
03:32
Shore Gold Inc. (TSX: SGF; 4.70)
Rating:
Risk Qualifier:
Price Target:
Outperform
Speculative Risk
8.00
Encouraging Results at Orion but Model Revision Drives Target Reduction
• Still Early Stage, Results Promising. Shore published final LDD sampling
results for the 20 hole program on the Orion North kimberlite. Results indicate
there are two main zones of interest within Orion North.
• Key Takeaway. We believe that Shore Gold has been able to define higher
grade zones within the Orion North deposit. Previous experience with the
100% owned Star kimberlite has shown that underground bulk sampling could
improve grades.
• Valuation. Our 2007 NAV estimate for Shore Gold is $8.02/sh (down from
$8.74/sh). Our revised target price is $8.00/share, based on a 1.0x NAV
multiple. Carving out our $4.35/sh NPV for the Star Project and working
capital generates a value of $5.47/sh, suggesting the FALC JV comes free
at these levels.

energyi
27/2/2007
10:12
February 26, 2007
Gem Diamonds Raises Just Under £300 million And Gets Full London Listing


So, who was the South African who came quietly into London and left last
week after raising £297.21 million for a company which was only formed
in the summer of 2005 and now has a full listing in London? A diamond
company, to boot, with one mine in production in Lesotho and another five at the
development stage – four of these being in the Democratic Republic of
Congo.

His name is Clifford Elphick and he is both executive chairman and
chief executive of Gem Diamonds Ltd which flies in the face of UK company
governance just for a start.. Agreed the company is registered in the
British Virgin Islands, but it has its head office in London and
intends to conduct its affairs as resident in London for tax purposes.

Letseng drilling in satellite pipe at night

It might therefore be a good idea to go the whole hog and separate the
jobs of chairman and chief executive. In fact on page 55 of the
prospectus, which runs to a monster 510 pages, the board admits that Elphick
having both jobs does not comply fully with the Combined Code. However it
feels that it is appropriate at this time and an independent chairman
will be found within 12 months. That smacks a shade of arrogance. "We know
what the rules are, but it does not suit us to obey at the moment. Maybe
later" Well it has to be acknowledged that Clifford Elphick is one of the
anointed and his company's brokers JP Morgan Cazenove sometimes have their own ideas of the rules.

Being one of the anointed in this case means that the hand of Harry
Oppenheimer hovered over his head early in his career in the diamond
industry. In 1988 he was called from Anglo American where he was
working in the corporate and international finance division to be
Harry Oppenheimer's personal assistant. Clearly he fitted the bill as he was
then appointed as managing director of E Oppenheimer and he stayed there
from 1990 to 2004. If you want a career with De Beers you cannot do much
better and he crowned it by serving on the De Beers executive committee after
the buy-out in 2000. How and why he parted from De Beers is not known, but
it seems doubtful if Jonathan Oppenheim is on his Christmas card list.

With him as executives are Kevin Burford, an accountant and long term
De Beers man, Graham Wheelock, the same, and Gavin Beevers, the same
except the latter two were involved in exploration and production rather than
finance.

The other two directors are Roger Davis, who worked his way up on the
management side after an Army career to be chief executive of Barclays
UK banking operations, and Dave Elzas. Dave has a slightly unusual CV in
that he was managing director of the Beny Steinmetz Group which is a rival
of De Beers in many aspects of the diamond industry. Maybe it was this, and
the fact that he has been involved in major fund management, that attracted
Elphick to him. Be in no doubt that it is Elphick who is in total
control and has more than ten times as many shares as any other director.

The pattern among senior management is also the same. All five spent a
large part of their careers to date with De Beers so they should know
what they are doing now that they are out on their own. And information on
the Letseng mine will have been handed down to them as it was operated by
De Beers between 1977 and 1982. It was actually acquired by Gem Diamonds
in July 2006 from JCI and in the subsequent quarter to end September 2006
a total of 623,213 tonnes of kimberlite ore from the satellite pipe
and stockpile were treated at a grade of 2.06 carats/100 tonnes to give
around 12,464 carats. A major plus is that large gem quality diamonds are
recovered on a regular basis and their presence can be modelled with a high
degree of accuracy. The 603 carat Lesotho promise was recovered in August 2006
and sold for US$12.36 million – or US$20,497.50/carat – which makes a
nonsense out of any attempts to forecast average value per carat.

As at the beginning of last October the net probable reserves at Letseng
amounted to around 55 million tonnes of diamondiferous kimberlite at
an average grade of 1.68 carats/100 tonnes. At the present rate of
production this would last something like 85 years , but a second treatment and
processing plant is under construction which should be operational in 2008.
This will double production levels to around 430,000 tonnes/month, but
the life of mine will still be at least 35 years which will see most people
off. This increase in production, at what has to be accepted is a low
grade, should boost recovery of the larger stones though investors
should be aware that it is always possible that there could be lean periods.

The next push will come from the DRC where Gem Diamonds has four projects –
Mbelenge, Longatshimo, , Lubembe and Tshikapa. The focus is on Mbelenge
where production from alluvial gravels should start later this year.
The Financial Times recently published an article entitled 'Stability tempts
mining companies back to Congo' in which it reported that several of the
world's leading companies were investing billions of dollars in the
mineral-rich country, encouraged by the introduction of a World
Bank-draftedmining code and the formation of a new government under Joseph Kabila,elected president in the first free vote in four decades. The leopard
only changes its spots very gradually and it will be worth keeping a close
eye on Moto Goldmines which has run into some political problems as we
reported last week.

The Central African Republic is very much under-explored as AXMIN and
Pan African Resources can confirm and here the company is involved in
another alluvial project, Mambere , where production is expected to start at
the end of this year through a bulk sampling plant. A scoping study has
already been carried out , initial bulk sampling has taken place, mine plans
finalised and key items of plant and equipment should arrive shortly.
Longer term, of course, the company is looking for other projects,
especially kimberlite, in the usual African countries such as Angola,
where it has an agreement with Angolan partners, and Botswana.
Zimbabwe also gets a mention and as there seems little doubt that Mugabe is
likely to fall off his perch fairly soon the timing could be propitious..

De Beers closed the Letseng mine in the 80s as there was limited
demand for big white stones. It might now be ruing that decision as values of such
stones have changed dramatically and Clifford Elphick appears to have
timed his purchase well. . Based on the offer price of 950p per share, to
which
it is now standing at a slight premium, the market capitalisation of
Gem
Diamonds is around £550 million. Assuming FTSE index inclusion, and
based
on current market valuations, Gem Diamonds would rank number 218 in the
FTSE
250. Quite how Mr Elphick managed to agree such a price for the
shares and
raise so much money is a bit of a mystery, but time will answer such
questions.

geologic
30/10/2006
11:55
SECRET PLAN... but not much cash

Laura Lee Duffett's Tres-Or Resources Ltd. and Patrick Power's Arctic Star Diamond Corp. plan a much larger test of the Lapointe kimberlite in Northeastern Ontario before year-end. The pipe yielded modest diamond counts over the past year, but the partners believe a higher-grade zone could have economic potential. Tres-Or is looking at a novel approach to collect a much larger batch of kimberlite from the best part of the body.

The plan

Ms. Duffett said the partners were evaluating a method to extract a larger tonnage from the higher-grade diatreme zone that produced the best diamond counts and a single large macrodiamond. Tres-Or thinks the better rock covers at least four hectares, maybe 10 hectares of Lapointe, currently about 21 hectares in size.

Collecting a sample from the deeper parts of Lapointe would normally be an expensive proposition if Tres-Or relied on traditional methods. Rather than drill up a relatively small amount of kimberlite, Ms. Duffett said Tres-Or is considering a method typically used to sink platforms for bridges to get at the rock.

The plan apparently involves digging up the overburden and sinking two-metre steel casings into the hole. A crane would continue to extract the overburden. Once Tres-Or reached the kimberlite a secure and welded steel casing would extend upward to the surface. The company could then remove the kimberlite sample.

Tres-Or is still working on the details of its largely secret plan, but getting the appropriate approvals is the only real delay. Ms. Duffett said the partners were applying for a mining lease for the project, and the application was now in the hands of the Ontario government. Tres-Or expects to get the lease and work permits settled by the end of November. The engineering work is complete and the partners have the required cash, so Ms. Duffett expects to start its mini-bulk sample before the end of the year.

The slight delay should work to Tres-Or's advantage, as the ground will be frozen by the time the company starts digging its hole. The Lapointe pipe has a thicker layer of overburden that includes clay till layers and the uppermost kimberlite zones are wet and crumbly. An early freeze would therefore make the extraction easier.

The cash

A lack of cash did seem to be an issue through the summer. When Edward Williams's Diamond Discoveries signed an option deal on the Quebec play this spring, the OTC Bulletin Board-listed company agreed to match Tres-Or's exploration expenditures and pay over $223,000 over the next year. At the end of June, the company had a working capital deficiency of over $800,000 (U.S.). The company has over 300 million shares outstanding, which currently trade for less than one U.S. penny.

@:

energyi
30/10/2006
10:44
Peregrine Diamonds to acquire Kettle River
2006-10-26 09:57 ET - News Release

one Peregrine share to five Kettle River shares:
Peregrine will be issuing 2,259,522 common shares
Mr. Eric Friedland of Peregrine reports

PEREGRINE DIAMONDS TO ACQUIRE KETTLE RIVER RESOURCES, PEREGRINE'S INTEREST IN THE WO DIAMOND PROJECT TO INCREASE TO 61.14%

Peregrine Diamonds Ltd. and Kettle River Resources Ltd. have entered into an agreement to effect a business combination pursuant to which Kettle River will be acquired by Peregrine. Kettle River's primary asset is its one-third equity ownership in DHK Diamonds Inc., a private company that owns a 20-per-cent participating interest in the WO diamond project joint venture, Northwest Territories, Canada, which contains the DO-27 and DO-18 kimberlite pipes. Upon completion of the business combination, Peregrine will hold a 54.475-per-cent direct and 6.67-per-cent indirect interest (for total of 61.14-per-cent) in the WO joint venture in addition to 92.65-per-cent of the diamond marketing rights and project operatorship. In addition, Peregrine will inherit (through Kettle River) a first right of refusal on the sale of the remaining two-third equity ownership in DHK held equally by Dentonia Resources Ltd. and Horseshoe Gold Mining Inc.

The business combination will be accomplished by way of a plan of arrangement, amalgamation or statutory acquisition under the provisions of the Business Corporations Act pursuant to which in consideration for Kettle River being acquired by Peregrine, Peregrine will issue one common share for every five outstanding common shares of Kettle River, resulting in an exchange ratio of one Peregrine share to five Kettle River shares. As Kettle River currently has 11,297,611 common shares which are issued and outstanding and 2,026,000 common shares which are reserved for issuance under outstanding options, warrants or convertible securities, Peregrine will be issuing 2,259,522 common shares and reserving for issuance 405,200 common shares under the business combination with Kettle River.

The effective date of the acquisition and the exchange and distribution of shares will be the date by which the acquisition is approved by the shareholders of Kettle River, any required court approvals have been received, all necessary filings have been made with all applicable regulatory authorities, the listing of Peregrine shares issued in consideration for the acquisition is approved by the Toronto Stock Exchange or other applicable stock exchange, and any and all other necessary steps are completed and approvals are received for the purpose of the completion of the acquisition, all of which is anticipated to occur or be obtained on or before Jan. 31, 2007.

As a condition of the agreement, Peregrine has entered into voting and standstill agreements, executed by all of Kettle River's directors, officers and various shareholders representing over 30 per cent of the issued and outstanding shares of Kettle River. The voting and standstill agreements irrevocably bind the shareholders to vote their Kettle River shares in favour of the acquisition, among other things. A break fee in the amount of $1-million is payable to Peregrine by Kettle River in the event the acquisition is not consummated under certain conditions.

Under the terms of the acquisition agreement, Peregrine will immediately extend a secured loan to Kettle River in the principal amount of up to $2.5-million, to be drawn down on an as-needed basis, to be used by Kettle River to make its WO diamond project joint venture cash call contributions and for general operating expenses (to a maximum of $150,000) until the completion of the business combination.

@:

energyi
23/10/2006
11:00
Geological modeling of the Star kimberlite in Saskatchewan
....pegs the size of the body at 276 million tonnes, of which 81 million tonnes lies on joint-ventured ground. The detailed geological model gives Shore just 194 million tonnes of kimberlite on its original property. The company's 2001 model indicated a potential tonnage of about 300 million tonnes of kimberlite, all of it on Shore's 100-per-cent-owned property. Shore is in the midst of a $60-million pre-feasibility study on Star. Shore ended the week down C$0.12 at C$5.24.

energyi
08/8/2006
10:59
Shareholders in Forest Gate Resources
...got good news after the company reported that it had intersected kimberlite at its West Side property near Prince Albert, Saskatchewan. The intercept came from the western extension of the 122 Kimberlite, which crosses the western boundary of Shore Gold and De Beers joint venture ground. The vertical hole intersected 11.8 metres of kimberlite, investors are now waiting to see how diamondiferous it is. Forest Gate ended the week up C$0.02 to close at C$0.22.

energyi
07/8/2006
16:49
A Better Investment ?

By Danielle Rossingh and Saijel Kishan
Aug. 7 (Bloomberg) -- For the first time in 25 years,
diamond production is declining and that may make the world's
most coveted stones a better investment than copper, nickel and
zinc, this year's top-performing commodities.
Output from diamond mines worldwide is likely to fall 2
percent by 2015, says James Picton, a diamond analyst at W.H.
Ireland who's been following the industry for 35 years.
Production has increased about 9 percent in the past five years,
according to the New York-based World Diamond Council, as mining
companies hurried to find new deposits to meet soaring demand.
A rally in prices will fuel earnings for producers African
Diamonds Plc and Petra Diamond Ltd., according to Merrill Lynch &
Co. and JPMorgan Chase & Co. The drop in production comes as
purchases of the stones rise, helped by the booming economies of
China and India. China alone doubled jewelry purchases since 2001
and may buy 20 percent more this year, according to www Diamond
Forecast Ltd., a London-based research firm.
Diamonds have ``the best fundamentals,'' said Evy Hambro,
who manages the $6.6 billion World Mining Fund in London for
Merrill Lynch. ``The gap between supply and demand is much bigge
relative to other commodities.''
Rough, or uncut, diamonds don't trade on commodity
exchanges. Instead Johannesburg-based De Beers, which sells 60
percent of the world's uncut gems, holds 10 sales a year, known
as sights, to a select group of customers called sightholders
from countries known for diamond cutting, including Belgium and
Israel. That leaves shares of diamond producers as the easiest
way to invest in the gems.

`Very Positive'

Hambro, with 1.5 percent of his assets in diamond companies
said he will buy shares of Germiston, South Africa-based Gem
Diamond Mining Corp., which goes public this year, and Toronto-
based Aber Diamond Corp. Ian Henderson, who manages $2.5 billion
in natural-resource assets for JPMorgan in London, said he has
increased his diamond-share holdings to 4 percent from 1 percent
in the past year. He declined to elaborate.
``I am very positive about diamonds, given the overall
supply-demand situation,'' said Henderson. ``Of the 170 diamond
companies out there, only 25 are actually producing.''
One of those is Dublin-based African Diamonds, whose shares
almost tripled this year. Another is Sierra Leone Diamond Co., a
Hemel Hempstead, U.K.-based company operating in West Africa,
whose stock has also tripled. Shares of Petra Diamonds, a Jersey,
U.K.-based explorer in Angola, South Africa and Botswana, have
risen 52 percent. By contrast, the Bloomberg World Mining index
of 48 companies, including OAO GMK Norilsk Nickel, the world's
No. 1 nickel producer, is up 21 percent.
``There are no big mines out there in the foreseeable
future,'' said John Teeling, chairman of African Diamonds, which
made its first and only diamond-mine discovery two years ago in
Botswana. ``We'd be very lucky to find a second.''

Retail Boom

Declining production is a boon for retailers. Consumers
bought $70 billion of diamonds worldwide last year, Picton said.
Retailers including De Beers and Tiffany & Co. aim to increase
that figure this year with new stores from Wall Street to
Beijing. De Beers plans to open 20 new jewelry stores this year
and next with Paris-based LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SA.
``There's something about diamonds that is completely
seductive for people,'' said Stephen Webster, who designed the
wedding rings for singers Madonna, Pink and Christina Aguilera.
``Everything else feels second-best.''

Thirty Percent Increase

The value of rough diamonds, as the uncut stones are calle
is likely to increase 30 percent in the next six years, says
Picton at Manchester, England-based W.H. Ireland. His research
shows that diamonds provided better returns than gold since 194
Diamonds, the hardest substance in the world, formed in
primeval carbon rock structures known as kimberlites at least 1
kilometers (93 miles) underground. Volcanic activity brought th
gems closer to the surface, and the first were found in the
riverbeds of India's Golconda region. About 7,000 kimberlites
have been discovered and only 15 percent bear diamonds. Since t
first were discovered more than 2,000 years ago in India, the
world has produced 380 tons of diamonds.
The scarcer they are, the higher the price. The average
value of the 114 million carats (50 pounds) of diamonds sold
worldwide each year is little more than $7 billion, according to
the World Diamond Council. In 2000, when 110 million carats were
produced, the value was $7.8 billion.

Outperform Metals

``Diamonds could very well outperform base metals'' in the
coming years, said Andrew Ferguson, who manages about $313
million at New City Investment Managers Ltd. in London. ``Given
the huge increases in demand and the imbalances in supply, I
expect good returns.'' He declined to say how much.
One threat to rising prices is the growth of synthetic
diamonds. Since 1955, when General Electric Co. developed a
process to develop synthetic gems for use in drilling, cutting
and grinding tools, the use of non-natural gems has soared, today
accounting for about half of all diamonds.
Industrial use of diamonds accounted for 25 percent of
supplies by weight or 5 to 10 percent by value, according to www
International Diamond. Gemesis Corp., producer of most of the
world's synthetic gem-quality diamonds, said it will raise output
about eightfold in 2006 from last year to take advantage of
rising prices.
The rally in commodity markets, now in its fifth year, has
sent prices for raw materials to records. Copper has more than
doubled in price in the past year. Nickel is up 77 percent. Gold
has surged almost 50 percent and reached a 26-year high in May.
Prices in London were at $646.30 an ounce on Aug. 3.
``To have matched the average diamond-price increase since
1948, gold would have to be around $750,'' said the 70-year-old
Picton. ``To have matched a basket of the finest, largest-quality
gems, gold would have to be around $2,000.''

Few Producing Mines

Some untapped diamond deposits are too dangerous to develop,
adding to a shortage. Disputes over access to the gems have
sparked violence in Angola and in the resource-rich Democratic
Republic of Congo during the civil war that has killed more than
4 million since 1998.
Diamond investments will enjoy ``above-average'' returns in
the next several years, according to Trevor Steel, who manages
$600 million in natural-resource assets at Baker Steel Capital
Managers in London. ``Prices of diamonds and precious metals
generally are more resilient to the short-term effects of an
economic slowdown compared with base metals.''
W.H. Ireland's Picton says falling production, led by
declines at the biggest producers, including Rio Tinto Group's
Argyle mine in Australia, the world's largest, will leave $10
billion of demand unfulfilled. The drop will occur even after
Botswana boosted output 17 percent last year. The nation, the
world's biggest producer of diamonds, accounts for 25 percent of
the gems.

`Another Botswana'

``In order to meet the shortfall, you would have to find at
least another Botswana, or better yet, two,'' said Picton, whose
company is based in Manchester, England. ``It can't be done.''
Canada's Ekati mine, run by BHP Billiton, will be depleted
by 2015, Picton said. Ekati, which produces about $700 million of
rough gems a year, will last until 2017, said BHP spokeswoman
Emma Meade in Melbourne. Rio Tinto's Diavik mine in Canada will
drop ``sharply,'' Picton said. Rio Tinto said in December it will
spend $910 million to extend the life of its Argyle mine to 2018.
With diamonds hard to come by, some stocks have sputtered.
Shares of Gravity Diamonds Ltd., a Melbourne-based company that
explores in Congo, have slumped 45 percent in the past year.
European Diamonds Plc of London, which explores and mines in
Finland and Lesotho, southern Africa, is down 60 percent in the
past year.
``The really tricky bit with diamond-exploration companies
is finding a kimberlite that is actually economically viable,''
said Sacha Borthwick, an analyst at stockbroker Hargreave Hale
Ltd. in London. ``The odds of that are very low.''

Most Expensive

Global demand may rise 6 percent a year to $23 billion by
2015, Picton says.
About 1.2 billion diamonds weighing 160 million carats and
worth $13.4 billion were produced last year, according to www
International Diamond. Uncut diamond prices rose 3.7 percent on
average last year to $84 a carat, with the most expensive pink
and red stones selling for $50,000, the consulting company said.
The most expensive diamond ever sold is the 100.1 carat Star
of the Season, bought for $16.5 million in Geneva in 1995 by
Saudi Sheikh Ahmed Hassan Fitaihi. The largest gem ever found is
the Cullinan, which was discovered in 1905 in South Africa and
weighed 3,106 carats, according to London-based Diamond and
Trading Company.

Finding Stones

Diamond miners are spending more to find the stones. De
Beers plans to invest 1.2 billion rand ($175 million) in opening
South Africa's Voorspoed mine, which was closed 97 years ago, and
a further 1 billion rand on a project on the sea bed off South
Africa's coast. In Canada, De Beers is spending C$2 billion ($1.8
billion) digging the Snap Lake and Victor mines.
``Diamond stocks have underperformed other mining stocks in
this commodity bull-run,'' says New York-based James Passin,
whose $500 million Firebird Global Fund has a 10 percent holding
in diamond stocks. ``This is about to change.''
--With reporting by Antony Sguazzin and Stewart Bailey in
Johannesburg, Xiao Yu in Beijing, Debarati Roy in Mumbai and Tan
Hwee Ann in Melbourne. Editor: Carrigan (jnp/sds)

Story illustration: For more diamond news, see NI GEM BN .
For jewelry-related new, see NI JEWELRY BN . For top
commodity stories, see CTOP . Click on
for the WWW International
Diamond Consultants Ltd. Web site. See
for the Minesite Web site.

energyi
28/7/2006
13:51
De Beers boosts growth spend
By: Gareth Tredway
Posted: '28-JUL-06 12:16' GMT © Mineweb 1997-2006



JOHANNESBURG (Mineweb.com) -- De Beers is spending a lot more money in the search for and development of new diamond mines, according to its interim Results presentation released on Friday. The world's largest diamond producer spent $394 million in the first half of 2006 on expansion projects in South Africa and Canada, compared to a mere $90 million in the first half of last year. This figure is expected to double to a total of around $800 million by the end of 2006, and the same amount can be expected next year. In 2005 the company spent a total of $370 million on expansion while only $60 million was spent in 2004. Gareth Penny, managing director, says the company will achieve a net 10% increase over the next five years from the new projects. Currently De Beers produces just under 50 million carats a year, so another 5 million carats will be added to that. The new approved projects include Snap Lake (2.4 million carats a year) and Victor (630,000 carats a year) in Canada, the Sea Areas (260,000 carats) and Voorspoed (595,000 carats) projects in South Africa, and the new Orapa 3 plant in Botswana which will boost production from 6 million to 10 million carats a year. All together this equals about 8 million new carats in total. But that is not all, according to the fact book from major shareholder, Anglo American, De Beers also has early stage plans for the $1 billion Gahcho Kue project in Canada, which would start producing in 2011 and the Finsch life extending Block 5 project, which would also come on stream in 2011, costing $523 million. Exploration The search for new diamonds is also on, with the company spending $75 million in the interim, on exploration expenditure compared to $50 million in the equivalent six months last year, an increase of 50%. For the whole of last year a total of $111 million went into exploration and $90 million the year before that. This exploration is going on in Botswana, Angola, Guinea, and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and in Canada. Chairman, Nicky Oppenheimer, says he is most excited about the work in Angola and the DRC. "We are very encouraged by the early results," said Oppenheimer. Paying for it all The company says it can stretch its revolving debt facility to about $3.7 billion but adds that by the end of next year or early 2008, it will reach a peak of around $3 billion from the current level of $2.48 billion at the end of June. Operationally the company generated $353 million in the first half of the year, compared to $158 million in the first half of last year. For the whole of financial 2005, De Beers generated $473 million in cash from operating activities.

@:

energyi
09/7/2006
10:52
SUNDAY TELEGRAPH



Botswana diamond project 'in the top 10'

By Edward Simpkins

(Filed: 09/07/2006)



African Diamonds, the Aim-listed gemstone exploration company chaired by John Teeling, is expected to announce this week that it has significantly upgraded the size of its find in Botswana and to say that it believes the resource could become one of the world's 10 largest diamond mines.

The company has a joint venture with De Beers, the diamond giant, which owns 51 per cent of the project and can acquire up to 70 per cent by funding the exploration work near to its existing mine at Orapa in Botswana.

The resource was discovered by a young De Beer's geologist, Mark Scowcroft, who left the company after failing to convince it that its geological models were incorrect. He applied for licences over the area and together with African Diamonds set up an exploration project on the site. De Beers was forced to buy back in when Scowcroft was proved correct.

Now, it seems that the resource, known as AK6, is even richer than had been thought. A drilling campaign and testing of rock samples by De Beers has revealed that the size of the kimberlite deposits, the volcanic rock containing diamonds, is much larger than estimated. It has also discovered that part of the deposit contains rare class two diamonds that are chemically pure and tend to be larger than ordinary stones. Both the 45-carat Hope diamond in the Smithsonian in New York and the Cullinan diamonds, part of the Crown Jewels, are class two gems.

The discovery of the stones is expected to raise the overall value of the proposed mine to around $150 per carat and production to an expected 1.5m carats per year. Under previous predictions, analysts had expected the mine to produce revenues of around $3.6bn (£1.95bn) and attributed a value of $6 per share to African Diamond's shares. That figure is now expected to be revised substantially upwards.

The new geological model the miners are working from also indicates that there is a 50 per cent chance of making a further similar discovery nearby and drilling is expected to confirm that over the next few months.

The company's other diamond exploration assets in Sierra Leone and Guinea will be spun off into a company called West African Diamonds. African Diamonds' shareholders will receive shares in WAD on a four-for-one basis and the company is expected to be listed on Aim later this year when it will also raise money to bring two projects in Sierra Leone into production.

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