Ellendale Mine Owner to Launch Cutting Business

RAPAPORT... Burgundy Diamond Mines will open a cutting and polishing facility in Australia to manufacture colored diamonds from its Ellendale project, as well as those of third-party suppliers.The new factory will also include grading facilities, Burgundy said Tuesday. The miner, which bought the joint Ellendale and Blina deposits in Australia from Gibb River in March, plans to launch a focused branding campaign for the yellow diamonds the sites produce."Burgundy intends to extract maximum value from the natural beauty of the Ellendale stones via its own marketing initiatives, and reestablish Western Australia as a supplier of unique, high-value diamonds to luxury-goods markets worldwide," the company noted.The company will manufacture colored diamonds from its other mines in the future, including the Naujaat project in Canada, which produces fancy-yellow and orange diamonds. That project is currently in the bulk-sampling phase, with production set for 2022. Burgundy hopes to begin producing from Ellendale next year. "This is an ideal opportunity to secure specialist facilities and skills as a springboard for our planned business growth, incorporating a downstream extension to our diamond strategy," said Burgundy managing director Peter Ravenscroft. "Burgundy will use this capability to maximize the value of our own future fancy-color diamond production, and to pursue other business opportunities in this high-value segment."Image: Diamonds from the Ellendale mine. (Gibb River)