ABC News has a video about recently found emeralds at the North American EmeraldMine near Hiddenite, North Carolina. This is a “pay-to-dig” mine where anyone can search for a fee.
Most people don’t realize that some amazing emeralds have been found in North Carolina. The North Carolina Museum of Natural History just received a gift of four emeralds found in Alexander County in 2011 that are worth millions of dollars.
Investing in diamonds and the stocks of diamond companies requires a lot of specialized knowledge. A diamond exchange-traded fund is proposed that will attempt to track the public market for diamonds.
Low diamond prices and a strong Australian dollar have caused problems for the Australian diamond and gemstonemining industry for the past five years (see graph below). Could 2012 be a year of change?
Increasing popularity, increasing disposable income and an increasing interest in gemstone investments are working together to make China a major importer of gem-quality diamonds.
A recent article in the Ultratec Newsletter by John Bailey was: “Can You Make Money Faceting?” He thinks you can make good money if you have the desire and basic skills.
De Beers Canada has an agreement with the Province of Ontario that ten percent of the gem quality diamonds produced from the Victor Mine will be cut in Ontario. The problem is finding cutters who have skills that match the quality of the stones.
Throughout the 20th century most people would never have thought about Canada being an important producer of diamonds. But in 1991 two geologists found evidence of kimberlite pipes about 100 miles south of the Arctic Circle. Soon Canada became one of the world’s leading diamond producers.
This is a great time to introduce kids to earth science with age-appropriate books. The geology.com store has children’s books on topics that include: dinosaurs, rocks, minerals, fossils, gemstones, volcanoes and more.
Rock tumblers have been manufactured and sold to hobbyists since the 1950′s. The first machines tumbled rocks in metal cans. Since then rubber barrels have significantly reduce the noise, however rotary machines still require at least one month to convert rough rock into brightly polished stones. However, newer vibratory tumblers can process rock in a little over a week. Christmas is great time to try rock tumbling, revive your interest or introduce another person to to the hobby.
“Buying Gem Rough” is an interesting article by Lisa Elser. She provides some tips on evaluating the rough, the people you are buying from, and how you will utilize what you buy.
Ten years ago very few diamonds were being sold in China but today the country is the second largest consumer of gem diamonds with an annual consumption of about $8 billion.
Part of an exploration map - Wyoming Geological Survey
The United States is the world’s leading consumer of diamonds, spending billions of dollars per year on the gem. Although domestic production is currently just a few hundred carats, there is a potential for production in several states.
A 110-carat vivid yellow, pear-shaped diamond that was mined in South Africa will be auctioned next week in Geneva. It is expected to bring up to $15 million. YouTube Video.
Anglo American has negotiated a deal that will give them 85% of the outstanding stock of De Beers, a company that has dominated the diamond industry for about 100 years.
One advantage that diamonds have held over colored stones is the ability of manufacturers to obtain a steady supply of consistent quality stones. Large mining operations in Africa are now able to promise a steady and consistent supply of emeralds, amethysts and possibly rubies.
In the third quarter of 2011, the Diavik DiamondMine in Canada’s Northwest Territories produced 1.9 million carats of rough diamond from 600,000 tons of ore. For the calendar year they expect to produce 6.9 million carats from 2 million tons of ore.
Diamond is the world’s most popular gemstones and it’s qualities as the hardest natural substance make it an excellent abrasive. However, diamond is used for many other things which include: heat sink, speaker dome, laser windows and microbearings.
Stephen Blumberg, a jeweler in Quincy, Massachusetts, explains how the high price of gold has changed the traffic in his jewelry store and the types of things that people are buying.
DeBeers has long been the world’s leading company for mining, manufacturing and marketing gem and industrial diamond products. Now the company is offering venture capital to proposals that focus on creating new technological markets for their synthetic diamond products.
An article in The Economist explores why precious gemstones such as rubies, sapphires and emeralds, along with semi-precious stones such as rubellite and spinel have risen sharply in price in the past two years.
Gemstones have been faceted for hundreds of years and up until about 20 years ago the facets have been perfectly flat surfaces. New equipment allows facets to be cut with a concave shape that gathers light from a wider range of angles and broadly diverges it within the stone. The result is a bright and interesting gem. The down side is that the weight of the stone is reduced.
Scott Sucher has carefully researched, calculated and faceted replicas for over 30 of the world’s most famous diamonds. Images, histories and descriptions of these incredible stones can be seen at his Museum Diamonds website.
Named “Vivid Yellow” because of its extremely saturated color, the 32.77 carat diamond is expected to yield $6 to $8 million at auction. Its about the size and shape of a guitar pick.
USGS has published: “Alluvial Diamond Resource Potential and Production Capacity Assessment of the Central African Republic“. “Estimates are that approximately 39,000,000 carats of alluvial diamonds remain in the eastern and western zones of the CAR combined. This amount is roughly twice the total amount of diamonds reportedly exported from the Central African Republic since 1931.” Quoted from the USGS publication release.
USGS Special Investigations Report 2010–5044: “Alluvial Diamond Resource Potential and Production Capacity Assessment of Mali” has been published. The objective of this study was (1) to assess the naturally occurring endowment of diamonds in Mali (potential resources) based on geological evidence, previous studies, and recent field data and (2) to assess the diamond-production capacity and measure the intensity of mining activity.
Far from the traditional salt-water pearl localities of the South Pacific, Chinese workers in what were once rice fields are producing spectacular pearls for very low prices. Experts can still recognize these fresh-water pearls on sight but the quality and size of these pearls have rapidly improved.
Diamond discoveries in Canada have vaulted the country from obscurity to a leadership position in the diamond mining industry. Now a deposit has been discovered in central Saskatchewan that feasibility studies project will yield 12.3 carats per ton with a value of US$242 per carat.
The Kimberly Process approved the export of diamonds produced in Zimbabwe’s Marange diamond fields over strong objections raised by representatives from the United States, Canada and European Union.
According to an article in the Gemological Institute of America Insider, about 80% of colored gemstones are produced by artisanal miners. Many of them work under difficult conditions and earn a subsistence living.
Gem Diamonds began construction of its Gope Diamond Mine in Botswana, Africa. The underground mine is expected to produce and process about 500,000 metric tonnes of ore per year.
After moving to underground production methods the Diavik Mine, located in the Northwest Territories of Canada, is expected to have a production increase to 7 million carats per year.
BHP Billiton will begin stripping land in October to extend the life of the Ekati diamondmine that began operations in Canada’s Northwest Territories in 1998.
An article in the New York Times traces the history of spinel as a gemstone. For centuries it appeared in the gem collections of royalty – typically misidentified. Then in 1847, its image was badly damaged when it was used as a cheap substitute for ruby in signet rings. A recent discovery of beautiful pink spinel in Tanzania has rekindled demand for the stone.
Stock prices took a major fall between 2005 and present, but the prices paid at auction for colored gemstones have set records the entire time. According to an article on the AdvisorOne website, high-end gemstone and diamond purchases isn’t an investment market for the average person.
Hackmanite is a tenebrescent mineral of the sodalite family. It changes color when exposed to the UV wavelengths of sunlight, then slowly fades when removed from the light. Photos in this article show nice examples of the color change.
For the second consecutive year, ALROSA, a Russian diamond producing company, has produced more diamonds than De Beers, the long-time diamond production leader.
The chairman of the Kimberly Process Certification Scheme says that diamonds from Zimbabwe’s Marange field can enter international trade, however, several countries, including the United States, disagree.
As De Beers prepared to sell a portion of its famous Namaqualand Diamond Mine on the Atlantic coast of South Africa, 40 families stepped forward to claim that they own part of the mine.
Gem quality opal is one of the most spectacular gemstones. A single stone can flash with every color of the spectrum. This photo gallery will introduce you to the terminology of opals.
In this CNN interview, Frederic de Narp, CEO of Harry Winston explains that the demand for high quality diamonds is rising rapidly in China and his company has aggressive plans for pursing that market.
A 12,100 carat (2.42 kilogram) tanzanite was recovered from a mine in the Simanjiro District of Tanzania. It may be the third largest tanzanite stone ever found.
Foreign diamondmining companies in the alluvial deposits of Zimbabwe have been ordered to cede majority ownership in an attempt to stop diamond smuggling?
The news has several reports about diamond mining companies making large investments to quickly get their production up. This is in response to strong retail diamond sales – especially in China and India where double digit growth in retail diamond sales occurred in 2010 (25% and 31%). This report on Petra Diamonds that appeared in MiningWeekly.com is typical of what can be found in the recent news.
Welcome to Geology News!
Every day you can find links to several earth science news topics right here.
Bookmark this page and visit often. You can also receive our news for free by RSS feed or in a daily email message.
Advertising
Popular From Geology.com
Marcellus Shale: The most overlooked resource in the eastern United States!
Diamonds from Coal? Diamonds form under a variety of conditions that rarely involve coal as a source of carbon.
Mineral Rights / Oil & Gas: Who owns the minerals under your land? Have they been sold? Can someone mine without permission?
The Many Uses of Gold: Learn how the unique properties of gold make it extremely suited for a large number of industrial uses.
