Diamond - Copperbelt Katanga Mining

Botswana Diamonds starts drilling at South African project

September 1, 2021September 1, 2021 admin

Aim- and BSE-listed diamond explorer Botswana Diamonds has started drilling at its Thorny River project, in South Africa. Eight reverse circulation drill holes are planned to drill in-between the recently discovered River and River Extension blows. The drilling programme is expected to take no more than two weeks. The River blow was discovered by the company in November 2020 and covered a modelled surface area of 80 m by 40 m. The River Extension blow, which is less than 100 m east of the River blow, was discovered by the company in… Read More Here

UMS to bring in the heavyweights for shaft sinking at Karowe Mine

August 27, 2021August 27, 2021 admin

With a team comprising some of the most experienced professionals in shaft sinking, United Mining Services (UMS) is gearing up for the pre-sinking of two shafts for the Karowe Underground Mine Expansion Project (UGP) in Botswana. Following the completion of the feasibility study for the Karowe UGP, UMS was appointed by Lucara Botswana Pty Ltd and JDS Energy & Mining Inc. in October 2019 to engineer and design the shaft sinking of the production shaft (8,5 m in diameter), and the ventilation shaft (6 m diameter), both reaching a depth… Read More Here

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Diamond sales at De Beers’ Botswana unit rebound as global market recovers

August 6, 2021August 6, 2021 admin

De Beers’ Botswana unit saw sales of rough diamonds rebound by 41% in the first half of 2021, driven by the reopening of key markets the United States and China, data from the Bank of Botswana showed on Thursday. Debswana Diamond Company, a joint venture between the Botswana government and Anglo American’s De Beers, sells 75% of its output to De Beers with the balance taken up by state-owned Okavango Diamond Debswana’s sales fell by 30% in 2020 as the coronavirus pandemic hit demand while global travel restrictions impacted trading.… Read More Here

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Angola produced 3.1 million carats of diamonds in the first 4 months of 2021

July 30, 2021July 30, 2021 admin

Angola produced a total of 3.1 million carats of diamonds (620 kg) from January to April this year, international media reported on Thursday, citing a government official. This figure is reasonable, given the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, said Alexandre Garrett, director of the Planning and Statistics Office of the Ministry of Mineral Resources, at a local forum on the banking sector and the ‘mining. Angola will continue to support operators to increase diamond production and reach the target of 9.1 million carats (1,820 kg) by 2022, added Garrett. For… Read More Here

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De Beers’ second-quarter rough diamond production up 134%

July 20, 2021July 21, 2021 admin

Diamond miner De Beers’ rough diamond production increased by 134% year-on-year to 8.2-million carats during the second quarter, which the miner says reflects “planned higher production” to meet stronger demand for rough diamonds. In Botswana, production increased by 214% to 5.7-million carats, while production in Namibia decreased by 6% to 300 000 ct, primarily owing to planned maintenance of the Mafuta vessel, which was completed in the quarter, and another vessel remaining demobilised. Production in South Africa increased by 130% to 1.3-million carats owing to the planned treatment of higher-grade ore… Read More Here

Diamond International

Diamonds and platinum sparkle in Anglo American’s Q2 production

July 20, 2021July 20, 2021 admin

Anglo American’s production rose by 20% in the second quarter, helped by higher output of platinum and diamonds, the miner said on Tuesday, despite operations running at 95% of full capacity because of COVID-19 disruptions. Rough diamond production rose by 134% compared to the same period last year as consumer demand recovered, while platinum group metals production at South African unit Anglo American Platinum increased by 59% to 1.06 million ounces. Copper output rose by 2% to 170,000 tonnes on higher production at Anglo’s largest mine in Chile, Los Bronces.… Read More Here

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Britain’s Firestone to sell Botswana diamond mine for $50,000

July 8, 2021July 8, 2021 admin

Britain’s Firestone Diamonds plc has agreed to sell its Botswana mine to a local company for just $50,000, after previous attempts to offload the mine it valued at $10 million in 2014 fell through. Firestone put BK11 mine on care and maintenance in 2012, citing operational challenges and weak market demand for the precious stones. In a statement, Firestone said it had entered into a binding agreement with Botswana-registered company Visionary Victor Resources to sell the mine for a one-off upfront payment of $50,000. “In addition, Visionary Victor Resources will… Read More Here

Diamond International

One of only four 1,000 carat-plus diamonds ever found dug up in Botswana

June 17, 2021June 17, 2021 admin

Debswana Diamond, a joint venture between De Beers and the government of Botswana, has found a 1,098-carat stone, one of only four rocks over 1,000 carats ever unearthed, and the biggest by the company since it began operations five decades ago. The yet to be named massive stone was picked on June 1 at Jwaneng, the world’s richest diamond mine by value, which is undergoing a $2 billion expansion. Initial analysis suggests the diamond is close not only in size, but also in quality to the 3,106-carat Cullinan, discovered in South Africa… Read More Here

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DR Congo diamond mining giant struggles to revive its glory days

June 8, 2021June 8, 2021 admin

Once the home of Democratic Republic of Congo’s state diamond company Miba, the town used to be filled with free-spending miners and their families, who brought a giddy touch of prosperity to remote Kasai-Oriental province. But at the end of last century, Miba — the Bakwanga Mining Company — began to go into a long downward spiral, taking the town with it. Poor management, crumbling infrastructure, embezzlement and looting, especially during the two Great Congo Wars between 1997 and 2003, left Miba crippled by debt and at the mercy of… Read More Here

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State diamond miner in Zimbabwe sees output rising 30% this year

June 2, 2021June 2, 2021 admin

The biggest diamond miner in Zimbabwe said it will be able to increase production of rough gems by about 30% to 3 million carats this year thanks to improved mining methods. Zimbabwe Consolidated Diamond Co.’s mines in the east of the country have so far met monthly targets of 200,000 carats, Chief Executive Officer Mark Mabhudhu said in an interview in Harare, the capital. The company produced 2.3 million carats worth of diamonds in 2020 and mostly sold them to India and the Middle East. Its higher production comes as… Read More Here