World Of Gems Conference 2017 Proceedings Book

WORLD OF GEMS CONFERENCE V - 8 - SEPTEMBER 2017 DIAMOND MARKET Active: Ekati, Diavik, Victor, Gahcho Kué, Renard Pending: Fort à la Corne, Chidliak Closed: Jericho, Snap Lake Contrary to a general common belief that natural diamond producers are only in it for themselves, it may come as a sur- prise that they all have a sustainability policy modeled along the points below. The policy spells out how to build a culture of commitment, trust, and respect for people and the environment. There are eight points that all major diamond mines follow: • Zero harm • Safety • Health • Environmental protection • Risk management • Community engagement • Compliance • Creating value Alrosa, the largest producer of rough di- amonds by value, has been included for the first time in the FTSE4Good inter- national rating. The FTSE Group was created in 1995 by Pearson (former parent of the Financial Times ) and the London Stock Exchange Group. FTSE4Good international rating is indi- cator of compliance with internationally recognized standards of good corpo- rate and social responsibility. Alrosa is reeling from a disaster at Mir mine as eight miners died in a collapse and subsequent flooding of the mine. It has been closed down indefinitely until an independent in- vestigation is concluded, which means a loss in production of 3.2 million carats a year. Alrosa has made a statement that they will step up production at their other mines and that, combined with a 14 million carat stockpile, they will be able to cover the shortfall in production carats. Alrosa revealed at the Hong Kong show a complete collec- tion of five diamonds totaling 76.22 carats called The Dy- nasty. They were created from a 179-carat rough diamond named the “Romanov” that was recovered in 2015 from an Alrosa-owned diamond mine in the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) in northeast Russia. The largest Dynasty diamond is a 51.38 carat, VVS1 clarity, D colour and triple excellent round brilliant cut. Rio Tinto’s Argyle mine struggles with profitability as it pro- duces mostly smaller brown stones at a time when the main consumer of these diamonds, India, is working through economic and inventory turmoil. The Argyle mine has very limited life of only a projected 2-4 years. Estimated production for 2017 is around 17 million carats. However, Ar- gyle also produces some of the most spectacular red and violet coloured diamonds and on tour currently is the largest Argyle red coloured diamond in 33 years of production at 2.11 carats and named the Everglow™. Besides Rio Tinto’s Argyle mine and their Canadian Diavik mine, they have just entered into a diamond exploration agreement with Shore Gold that will see them potentially invest 75 million over five years. It was a surprise move as the well-known diamondiferous kimberlites, for well over 20 years, have substantial overburden that has been avoided by other major produc- ers to date. DeBeers has committed to spend $140 million on marketing diamonds over the next year—their largest spend since 2008. The push is two pronged. One is to attract millenni- Photos courtesy Alrosa