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Which diamond events made headlines in 2019? Read on to see what diamond news grabbed the attention of our audience this year.
While the diamond market faced challenges throughout the year, including declining prices and an oversupplied downstream market, experts believe that the overall industry is coming out of 2019 in a much more sustainable position than the previous year.
With that in mind, what were the top diamond news headlines in 2019? We’ve compiled a list of our five most popular diamond news stories of last year — as the list below shows, news about diamond discoveries and market conditions took the spotlight.
Read on to see what diamond news in 2019 grabbed the attention of our audience.
1. Eira Thomas of Lucara: Diamond Sales “Ripe for Disruption”
First on our list of top diamond news stories is an interview with Eira Thomas, president and CEO of Lucara Diamond (TSX:LUC,OTC Pink:LUCRF). Thomas spoke to the Investing News Network at the Vancouver Resource Investment Conference about its acquisition of Clara and how the company is aiming to disrupt the way diamonds are sold.
Clara, which was bought by Lucara in early 2018, is a digital sales platform that uses blockchain to streamline the sales process in what Thomas called a “natural application” for the technology.
Read on to learn more about Clara and how Lucara plans to use the technology.
2. Explorer Goes Low Tech to Find Diamonds with Termites
This top diamond news story comes from the second annual Northern Miner Diamond Symposium in Toronto in June, at which Dr. Leon Daniels, president, CEO and director of Pangolin Diamonds (TSXV:PAN), told attendees about his use of termite hills to identify kimberlites in Botswana.
“Most people understand that termites have a major impact on their life when they are eating up their wooden house, so the economic contribution is normally seen as negative. But you could take the history of Botswana, which was one of the poorest countries at the time of independence; termites have had a major positive effect on the economics of Botswana. Without termites, Botswana would not be where it is today,” said the geologist, who has a lengthy history of discovering diamonds.
Click here to read the details on how termites can be used as a tool to discover diamonds.
3. Lucara Discovers 1,758 Carat Diamond in Botswana
Third on our list is an article surrounding Lucara’s discovery of a massive diamond in Botswana.
The gargantuan find, which clocked in at 1,758 carats, is the company’s largest gem to ever be mined in Botswana and one of the largest diamonds ever produced.
It also marked a major milestone for the Canadian diamond miner. The rare gem was unearthed through Lucara’s exclusive XRT circuit, which was commissioned in 2015. The circuit has produced a total of approximately 1.4 million carats since it was commissioned.
Continue reading to learn more about the discovery and what it meant for the company.
4. Star Diamond Identifies High Amount of Rare Diamonds
This second diamond discovery story features Canadian gem explorer Star Diamond (TSX:DIAM).
The miner completed a study confirming the proliferation of type IIa diamonds at its Star-Orion South project on Canada’s prairie. The study at the Central Saskatchewan asset confirmed there are “unusually high proportions” of type IIa diamonds in both the Star and the Orion South kimberlites.
This new data affirmed and increased a previous examination into the abundance of type IIa stones commissioned and completed in 2010.
Find out more details on the type of diamonds that were studied at the Star-Orion South project by clicking here.
5. De Beers’ Rough Diamond Sales Down 32 Percent
Our final top story of 2019 addresses De Beers and its dwindling diamond sales.
In June of this year, international diamond major De Beers reported a 32.87 percent decrease in its Cycle 5 rough diamond sales compared to the same period last year.
The company’s rough diamond sales totaled US$581 million during the fifth cycle of 2018 and only US$390 million for this year’s fifth cycle.
Oversupply in the small diamond segment and an overall drop in global rough diamond prices have likely weighed heavily on the multinational diamond producer.
Read on to discover how the dip in sales affected the company overall.
What were your favorite diamond news stories in 2019? Let us know in the comments.
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Securities Disclosure: I, Nicole Rashotte, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.
Editorial Disclosure: The Investing News Network does not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the information reported in the interviews it conducts. The opinions expressed in these interviews do not reflect the opinions of the Investing News Network and do not constitute investment advice. All readers are encouraged to perform their own due diligence.