N E W S
GOLDEN BROWN
Alrosa found Russia’s largest natural colored diamond — a 236-carat,
intense-yellow-brown stone — at its Ebelyakh mine. The company will
decide whether to polish the rough in-house or sell it in its current form.
DE BEERS SLASHES
ROUGH PR I CES
T
he major mining companies,
De Beers and Alrosa,
expressed optimism about
the diamond market in August,
prompting them to reduce prices
at their respective contract sales,
according to clients and brokers.
De Beers cut prices of 1-carat
rough and larger by 6% to 8%,
reflecting a rise in demand despite
the pandemic. The company had kept
prices stable throughout the crisis,
maintaining that it would make
changes when demand returned.
Meanwhile, Alrosa’s Alliance
members said the Russian supplier
had also reduced prices in August,
although it’s difficult to assess since
Alrosa gives less information about
prices on its invoices than other
companies do.
De Beers also ended its practice of
allowing sightholders to defer 100%
of their allocations, observing “some
improvement in market conditions,”
a spokesperson said.
Jewelry manufacturer
Frederick Goldman
has appointed
JUDAH
ZEIGLER
vice president
for business-to-business
(B2B) e-commerce. The
former Samsung executive’s duties will
include overseeing initiatives to help the
company’s retail partners identify digital
growth opportunities.
CÉLINE ASSIMON
is the new CEO of
De Beers Jewellers
as of September 1,
succeeding François
Delage. Assimon was
most recently CEO of De Grisogono and has
also held executive positions at Piaget and
the jewelry division of Louis Vuitton. Delage
stepped down after 10 years in the role.
MOVERS & SHAKERS
Gem Diamonds
recovered a 442-
carat, type II
rough stone at its
Letšeng mine in
Lesotho, claiming
it to be among the
largest diamonds
mined this year.
The company saw
revenue fall 22% to
$74 million in the
first half of 2020 as
the pandemic hit
rough prices.
Letšeng’s latest large find.
LARGE -STONE
BOOST
-
48
%
Diamond sales at Rio Tinto
slumped 48% to $141 million in the
first half, pushing the division to a
$40 million loss. The miner allowed
contract clients — known as Select
Diamantaires — to buy only the
goods they needed.
$
22M
LOSS
Mountain Province reported a loss
of CAD 26.8 million ($21.8 million)
in the second quarter, noting that
Covid-19 had left the Canadian
miner in “serious financial
difficulty.” The company has
been selling inventory to a major
shareholder to ease its liquidity
problems.
-
82
%
Lucara Diamond Corp. incurred
a net loss of $13.9 million for the
second quarter after canceling
its large-stone tenders due to the
weak market. Revenue from its
Karowe mine in Botswana plunged
82% year on year to $7.5 million.
M I N I N G
B R I E F S
10
SEPTEMBER 2020
DIAMONDS.NET
MAJOR MINERS SEE SHARP DECLINES
$Millions
$-500
$1,500
$1,000
$500
$0
$2,000
1H 2020
1H 2019
Based on De Beers and Alrosa reports and Rapaport estimates. Rapaport
applied an exchange rate of RUB 74.5 = $1 when converting Alrosa’s data
to US dollars. De Beers reports profit as underlying earnings.
