Diamond miner Alrosa, Chinese multinational Tencent and independent technology company Everledger have launched a new WeChat Mini Program e-commerce solution to Chinese retailers.This demonstrates the power of blockchain technology to seamless enable the purchase with full transparency of their origin, characteristics and ownership, a statement this week said.AdvertisementCreated by Alrosa and Eve...Read More
RAPAPORT... Gemfields auctioned 12 parcels of rubies backed by G? 1/4 belinGem Lab's Provenance Proof program, the first blockchain-enabled rubies theminer has sold, it said Tuesday. "[The stones] have become the first Gemfields rubies ever topioneer the use of blockchain in facilitating improved supply-chaintraceability," Adrian Banks, Gemfields' managing director of product and sales,expla...Read More
RAPAPORT... Alrosa's supervisory board has approved a three-yearstrategy for its cutting-and-polishing divisions, including the integration of newacquisition Kristall. The plan, which it will implement between 2020 and 2022,will improve the efficiency of the Russian miner's cutting andpolishing units, Alrosa said Monday. The strategy includesmeasures aimed at optimizing the product mix and pr...Read More
RAPAPORT... Alrosa will help launch a blockchain-based provenance program offering Chinese consumers greater transparency when buying jewelry via WeChat. The e-commerce program, apartnership with blockchain platform Everledger and Chinese Internet giantTencent Holdings, will be available to nearly a billion WeChat users, thecompanies said Monday. WeChat, which is owned by Tencent, is a m...Read More
RAPAPORT... Petra Diamonds has appointed Peter Hill as non-executivechairman, succeeding company founder Adonis Pouroulis, who is stepping down,the company said Tuesday. Hill is currently non-executive chairman of geotechnicalcontractor Keller Group and of building-products company Volution Group. Hewill begin with the miner as non-executive director and chairman-designate onJanuary 1, and will be...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Jared, in collaboration with James Allen, has opened a concept store in Frederick, Maryland. The retailer said the new format "provides an updated environment that is a significant, yet welcome, departure from a traditional jewelry store."These updates include a more tactile experience for those shopping for bridal jewelry. The store has a hands-on product experience that encourage...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Chow Tai Fook Jewellery Group Limited, in partnership with French jewelry school Haute Ecole de Joaillerie (HEJ), has launched the Loupe Jewellery Academy. The company said academy will shape the future by "incubating and inspiring forthcoming generations in the jewelry industry."The academy, whose curriculum covers design, craftsmanship and sales and marketing, has already held it...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Petra Diamonds has appointed Peter Hill CBE as its new non-executive director and chairman-designate with effect from 1 January 2020. Hill replaces Petra founder and current chairman Adonis Pouroulis who is stepping down on March 31, 2020. Hill, a mining engineer, is non-executive chairman at Keller Group plc, one of the world's largest geotechnical contractors, and...Read More
RAPAPORT... Gemfields auctioned 12 parcels of rubies backed by G? 1/4 belinGem Lab's Provenance Proof program, the first blockchain-enabled rubies theminer has sold, it said Tuesday. "[The stones] have become the first Gemfields rubies ever topioneer the use of blockchain in facilitating improved supply-chaintraceability," Adrian Banks, Gemfields' managing director of product and sales,expla...Read More
RAPAPORT... Alrosa will help launch a blockchain-based provenance program offering Chinese consumers greater transparency when buying jewelry via WeChat. The e-commerce program, apartnership with blockchain platform Everledger and Chinese Internet giantTencent Holdings, will be available to nearly a billion WeChat users, thecompanies said Monday. WeChat, which is owned by Tencent, is a m...Read More
RAPAPORT... Petra Diamonds has appointed Peter Hill as non-executivechairman, succeeding company founder Adonis Pouroulis, who is stepping down,the company said Tuesday. Hill is currently non-executive chairman of geotechnicalcontractor Keller Group and of building-products company Volution Group. Hewill begin with the miner as non-executive director and chairman-designate onJanuary 1, and will be...Read More
Global industrial company Metso is set to deliver high-performance crushing and material handling equipment to global diamond miner De Beers Group’s Venetia mine, in Limpopo.The Venetia mine is reported to produce an output of about four-million carats, making it one of South Africa’s mineral resource flagships.AdvertisementMetso will deliver two primary jaw crushers and a number of fe...Read More
London-listed Petra Diamonds on Tuesday announced the appointment of mining engineer Peter Hill as nonexecutive director and chairperson to succeed founder and chairperson Adonis Pouroulis on March 31.Hill, currently chairperson of the world’s largest geotechnical contractor Keller Group and of building products company Volution, will be chairperson designate from January 1.AdvertisementHe b...Read More
RAPAPORT... A drop in rough-diamond prices and a sales shift tolower-value items weighed on De Beers' profitability in the second half,according to executives at parent company Anglo American. The miner's rough-price index dropped around 5% year onyear for the first nine sights of 2019 amid a market slowdown, Anglo CEO MarkCutifani noted in a call with investors last week. Combined with the w...Read More
RAPAPORT... Signet Jewelers is now offering jewelry featuring synthetic diamonds and gemstones at all of its major US banners, after asuccessful pilot in limited locations. "Lab-created diamonds are available in both fashion and bridaljewelry at James Allen, Kay, Zales, and Jared stores, as well as their e-commercesites," David Bouffard, Signet's vice president of corporate affairs, confirme...Read More
RAPAPORT... Gibb River Diamonds believes it will secure the remainingfinancing needed to start production at its Blina mine after blocking ahostile takeover, it said Monday. The company's ability to obtain investment had been hindered by Ron Brierley, a New Zealand-based investor and corporate raider who launched a hostile takeover bid in 2015, executive chairman Jim Richards explained. Brier...Read More
(IDEX Online) - The Luaxe diamond deposit in Angola could produce 1 million carats of diamonds worth $90 million in 2020. That's according to Russian miner Alrosa, which owns the project with Angola's state-controlled diamond miners Catoca and Endiama. "It will be one of the largest deposits in the world," Vladimir Marchenko, Alrosa's deputy chief executive in charge of its Afr...Read More
MOSCOW – Russia is proposing to move toward ending the ban on selling so-called blood diamonds from the Central African Republic, a former French colony that’s struck recent military and commercial ties with Moscow, amid resistance from the US and Europe.The CAR, which is mired in civil conflict, should be granted a “road map” outlining the steps it needs to take to get the...Read More
PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Diamond miner Lucapa has generated a further A$9.3-million in revenues following its latest diamond tender.The Africa-focused miner on Monday said that 3 274 ct of diamonds from its Lulo mine, in Angola, was sold for gross proceeds of A$5-million, representing an average price per carat of A$1 517.AdvertisementA further 6 617 ct of diamonds from the Mothae mine, in...Read More
RAPAPORT... US retail sales rose in November as consumers sentiment was strong at the start of the holiday season, the National Retail Federation (NRF)said. Total purchases for November - excluding automobiles, gasoline andrestaurants - rose 0.1% compared to the previous month, according todata the NRF published Friday. Sales climbed 2.1% year on year for the month, particularly impressive gi...Read More