Top Gem and Diamond Stocks

1. Diamcor Mining

Year-to-date gain: 340 percent; current share price: C$0.33

Diamcor Mining (TSXV:DMI) has a strategic alliance with Tiffany & Co., and is now in the final stages of developing its South Africa-based Krone-Endora at Venetia diamond project, which it acquired from De Beers in 2011.

In mid-2021, Diamcor recommenced the two phase expansion of the processing facilities at Krone-Endora at Venetia after delays last year related to COVID-19. By October, the company had made an initial delivery of rough diamonds following the completion of phase one of the expansion upgrades. Phase two upgrades are slated to wrap up in the first half of 2022.

2. Lucapa Diamond Company

Year-to-date gain: 63.16 percent; current share price: AU$0.09

Africa-focused diamond producer Lucapa Diamond Company (ASX:LOM) is one of the leading ASX-listed diamond stocks. The company has two high-producing mines, Lulo in Angola and Mothae in Lesotho. Lucapa is conducting an exploration program to discover the primary kimberlite source of the alluvial production at Lulo.

The company has recovered a number of large diamonds of over 100 carats, including a massive 215 carat stone in February of this year. As of December 1, sales year-to-date from the Lulo mine were at a new annual record of US$73.8 million based on a record 25,844 carats sold at an average price of US$2,857 per carat.

In December, Lucapa completed the acquisition of the historic Merlin diamond project in the Northern Territory, Australia; the project contains a 4.4 million carat JORC compliant resource. The company plans to bring the mine back into production within the next two years.

3. Star Diamond

Year-to-date gain: 27.5 percent; current share price: C$0.26

Star Diamond (TSX:DIAM) currently holds 100 percent of the Fort à la Corne mineral dispositions, which include the Star-Orion South diamond project. The Fort à la Corne mineral dispositions are located in the provincial forest of the same name in Central Saskatchewan, Canada.

According to the miner, the vast extent of, and massive kimberlite volume contained in, the Fort à la Corne field has been noted since the original discovery of these kimberlites in the late 1980s.

In a 2018 preliminary economic assessment for the Star and Orion South kimberlites, it was reported that the assets could produce 66 million carats in a surface mine over a 38 year project life.

4. Anglo American

Year-to-date gain: 19.53 percent; current share price: GBX 2,898

Global mining giant Anglo American (LSE:AAL,OTCQX:AAUKF) produces a variety of commodities, including diamonds. The company owns 85 percent of De Beers, the world’s leading diamond company, with the remaining 15 percent owned by the government of Botswana. De Beers produces roughly one-third of the world’s supply of diamonds, and owns diamond mines in Botswana, Canada, South Africa and Namibia.

In its Q3 production report, the miner announced that diamond production grew by 28 percent for the quarter, noting that it had planned for higher production to meet recovering demand in the US and China.