De Beers

Mountain Province Diamonds shareholders approve Kennady Diamonds spin-out

Mountain Province Diamonds Inc. ("Mountain Province", the "Company") (TSX: MPV) (NYSE-AMEX: MDM) is pleased to announce that its shareholders have voted 99.5% in favour of the proposed spin-out of Kennady Diamonds Inc. ("Kennady Diamonds") at a special meeting of shareholders held yesterday, April 25, 2012.

Harry Winston reports a 19% increase in production at its Diavik mine

Luxury jeweler and watchmaker Harry Winston Diamond Corp said today that production at its Diavik mine in Canada's Northwest Territories was up about 19% in the first quarter on improved grades.

Murray & Roberts Cementation nominated as preferred contractor for proposed Venetia underground project

Murray & Roberts Cementation has been selected by De Beers as the preferred contractor to undertake the development of an underground mining operation at Venetia Diamond Mine. This project is in a feasibility stage and will be considered by the De Beers Board in 2012.

Botswana’s government to trade diamonds

The government of Botswana has established a new diamond trading company that will be responsible for the purchasing, selling and marketing of the state’s portion of Debswana Diamond’s production.

EU Commission gives Anglo American the green light for De Beers takeover

Anglo American (LON:AAL) can officially take over De Beers as the European Commission granted the global miner authorization to proceed with its acquisition of the world's biggest diamond company, announced in November.

De Beers expects dull year for diamonds despite sales increase of 27%

Diamond demand will slow down significantly in 2012 said today De Beers SA, the world’s largest supplier of rough diamonds, due largely to the weak global economy.

De Beers appoints CFO

De Beers today announced the appointment of Gareth Mostyn as the company’s CFO, effective 1 February 2012.

Anglo American shareholders back De Beers deal

Shareholders in Anglo American voted to approve the global miner's $5.1 billion acquisition of an additional 40 percent stake in De Beers, bringing the company closer to sealing control of one of the world's biggest diamond firms.

Appeals Court Upholds De Beers Settlement Case

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit issued an opinion Tuesday upholding the settlement in the class action litigation against De Beers for allegedly conspiring to monopolize the sale of rough diamonds.

Diamond market would almost double by 2020

Latest report from Bain & Company says that diamond industry will grow more than 6 percent a year over the next decade, which will hold up prices even through periods of volatility.

New Canadian diamond mine would drain part of lake

The environmental impacts of what would be the Northwest Territories' fourth diamond mine are being studied in Yellowknife, the capital.

De Beers opens second China store in six months

De Beers' second mainland China standalone was opened earlier this week. De Beers Diamond Jewellers has opened a second store in China, in The Friendship Mall in Tianjin, its second standalone in six months.

South Africa's diamonds dynasty kissing the business good bye

The Oppenheimers, the dynasty involved in South Africa's diamond industry for a century, sold their 40 percent stake in De Beers to Anglo American.

Debswana sheds 700 jobs, citing need to cut costs

Mmegi Online is reporting a major downsize has taken place at Debswana, a partnership between the Botswana government and De Beers.

Anglo American’s De Beers purchase explained

Lawyers on the Anglo American/De Beers deal navigated third party pre-emptive equity rights and utilised an anti-embarrassment clause in the $5.1 billion acquisition.

De Beers won't touch Zimbabwe diamonds

Business Live reports De Beers high-quality diamond retail arm Forevermark will not sell any diamonds from Zimbabwe's controversial Chiadzwa and fields, CEO Stephen Lussier said at the launch of the exclusive brand in South Africa.

This comes after the industry regulator, the Kimberley Process, gave Zimbabwe the green light to resume diamond exports from Marange last week. The decision is already being questioned, after the country's mines minister admitted on Thursday that smuggling was still rife. International sales from Marange were banned in 2009 after hundreds were killed and thousands of local miners were driven off claims when the army seized control of the area.

Botswana paper says De Beers' struggling Canada mines forced Oppenheimers to sell

Botswana Guardian argues the canny Oppenheimers seem to be getting out of the diamond business because its future looks bleak. De Beers is currently in financial straits occasioned by its underperforming mines – Snap Lake and Victor Mines – in northern Canada where costs are extremely high writes the paper.

Anglo American mining information technology overhaul in De Beers takeover

ComputerWorld reports Anglo American has said optimising its procurement, asset management, knowledge systems and shared services will be vital in making the most from its $5.1 billion takeover of De Beers, announced on Friday.

De Beers helping ex-workers become wind, abalone farmers, prison wardens and undersea gold miners

Mining Weekly reports De Beers is going all out to create 5,000 non-mining jobs in Namaqualand over the next five years as it exits a region on the South African west coast where it has mined for the past 90 years.

Projects include a wind farm, abalone culturing for export to China where it is a highly prized delicacy, a prison warden training facility and a joint venture with sister company Anglogold for undersea gold mining. The company has recently come under fire over plans to sell the properties including two towns to a much smaller outfit that will have to take responsibility for rehabilitation over a 970 square km area pockmarked by open pits.

Mined out town to De Beers: 'Our suffering is forever'

A small South African community 300km north of Cape Town is taking on De Beers over the diamond giant's plans to sell its 970 square km Namaqualand properties to a much smaller outfit already operating in the area.

Locals say Trans Hex, which will assume responsibility for rehabilitation, has a poor track record in the area, lacks financial clout and the environmental management programme put together by De Beers already falls far short of what is needed to clean up almost a century of opencast mining in the biodiversity hotspot. In a video (after the jump) community spokesperson David Markus says a diamond may be forever for De Beers, but for his people, "it’s the suffering that’s forever."

De Beers sets up synthetic diamond VC office in Silicon Valley

Venturebeat reports De Beers has set up investment offices in Silicon Valley to find and fund synthetic diamond startups through the investment arm of a subsidiary Element Six.

Element Six Ventures has already funded a number of startups that use synthetic diamonds in the semiconductor industry and other manufacturing processes. Its new office will be in a Santa Clara, Calif. location that will also house a new production site. Synthetic diamond is a surprisingly mature business – the first synthesis of synthetic diamond was achieved by a high pressure, high temperature process in 1953 and 7 years later these processes were commercialized and volume manufacturing started in South Africa in 1960.

Endiama head: $150m invested in diamond prospecting in past 6 years

Over the past six years, Endiama – a joint diamond production venture between De Beers and the Angolan government – has invested $150 million in prospecting for diamonds in Angola’s Lunda Norte Province, Endiama administrator Pedro Lago de Carvalho told the ANGOP news agency during the recent Luanda International Mining Fair (FIMA).

Rough diamond demand growth to hit record this year

Diamond producer De Beers expects global demand growth for rough diamonds to set a new record this year on the exceptionally strong performance of its key US market and robust demand in China and India, the head of the company’s distribution arm said.

Despite global volatility and concerns that the global economy is sliding towards another financial crisis, demand for diamonds was unlikely to be badly impacted because of its safe-haven appeal, Diamond Trading Co (DTC) Chief Executive Varda Shine told Reuters in an interview on Monday.

De Beers, Botswana deal agreed

Nine months overdue, the diamond marketing contract between the Government of Botswana and De Beers will finally be signed tomorrow in Gaborone, Mmegi reported on Thursday.

Diamond giant De Beers proposes hazardous waste dumps, prisons at old mines

TimesLive reports diamond giant De Beers plans to put hazardous waste – and up to 1,000 prisoners – into its disused property and diamond mines in the picturesque Namaqualand region (depicted), in the northwest of South Africa.

The company, which also had to settle a two-week strike over wages on Thursday, said the projects were just two of several potential business ideas for the disused old mine areas and that the Department of Minerals have asked for further public consultation and an impact study.

Last month De Beers concluded a deal with the state power utility Eskom to build a 150MW wind farm on a large stretch of coast north of Kleinzee, one of two towns that form part of the De Beers properties.