A natural diamond is made from carbon and is the hardest natural known substance on earth. Natural diamonds are created over a period of one to three billion years, many kilometres below the earth’s mantle under natural conditions of very high pressure and high temperature. But unlike champagne, the use
Mining & Exploration
Driven by significantly reduced diamond prices, especially in its March tender, diamond miner Petra Diamonds reports a drop in revenue of 32% year-on-year to $91.3-million for the third quarter of the financial year ended March 31. Reflecting stable market conditions before the Covid-19 pandemic took hold internationally, the company notes
The Catoca mine in Angola, the world’s fourth largest diamond mine, has cut its production 2020 guidance by 80%, IDEX Online reports. Credit: Lucapa The state-owned miner Endiama, which operates the mine together with Alrosa, has revised its output to 2 million this year, instead of the 10
The Democratic Republic of Congo has suspended the board of directors and management of state-controlled diamond mining company MIBA, after an audit revealed significant irregularities, the government said in a statement. The audit identified a host of problems including compliance, governance, production and financial management, the statement by Congo president’s
Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe on Friday urged mines to test for Covid-19 to the full extent without fearing mine closure. The Minister was responding to a media question on the steps the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) was taking to end the backlog of close
The South African mining industry is, generally, well prepared to deal with the return to work of a large percentage of staff as lockdown Alert Levels move from Level 4 to Level 3 on June 1, reports the Minerals Council South Africa. The council noted in its second weekly Covid-19