Has it
ever occurred to you that the sparkling and scintillating diamonds that adorn us, how have they reached us? Or, how have they been unearthed from the
structural layers of earth? And who are responsible for bringing them to the
markets all over the world?
The
answer can be summarised merely in a phrase- The diamond mining companies.
A diamond mining company can be defined as an
enterprise which is responsible to excavate diamonds from the potential areas,
sort the diamond rough, send them for cutting and polishing and finally are
bring them to the markets. The diamond mining companies are required to strike
a balance between its economic, social and environmental responsibilities and
make a positive and lasting contribution to the environment where it is
operating.
This
post of SDI talks about the three big players of diamond mining industry:
De
Beers
Alrosa
Rio
Tinto
DE BEERS: De Beers is a name
synonymous with flawless and sparkling diamonds. They are pioneers of diamond
mining, sorting, cutting, marketing and sales. The journey of this huge venture
started in the year 1888 in the Kimberley region of South Africa by Cecil
Rhodes, a British businessman and Barney Barnato, also a British.
This
125 years old enterprise saw many ups and downs in its journey but still
managed to top the charts as the world’s leading diamond company. In the year
1905 when the company was under Sir Ernest Oppenheimer, The Cullinan diamond
was discovered at the Premier mines. This is the biggest diamond rough ever
found and it weighed 3,106.75 cts. Nine diamonds were fashioned from this rough
and were called Cullinan 1, Cullinan 2 and so on.
 |
| CULLINAN DIAMONDS |
In 1934, the Diamond Trading Corporation was
established which is responsible for rough diamond sales and distribution which
are mined from South Africa and Canada and from Botswana, Zimbabwe and Tanzania
in partnership with their governments. Clients of the DTC are known as
sightholders. They are basically authorised purchasers of bulk diamonds. To
become a sightholder one has to comply with certain standards listed by the DTC.
In the year 1947 they came up with the most
celebrated advertising slogan “A Diamond is forever”.
From the
onset of the year 1966 potential mines in Botswana were discovered. Orapa mine
was the biggest success they got in that region. De Beers started a new venture
with the government of Botswana, called Debswana (50:50) in 1969 for mining
diamonds from Orapa. In the year 1972 the Jwaneng mines were discovered, which
is considered to be the richest mine in the world. Venetia mines in Limpopo
province of South Africa began production in 1992. It is the largest diamond
producing mine of South Africa.
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| ORAPA MINE |
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| JWANENG MINE |
Potential
deposits were found in Namibia and Namdeb, a joint venture of De Beers with the
government of Namibia was started to exploit the mines.
In the
year 1998 De Beers started working on Forevermark technology wherein the
diamond is laser inscribed with a Forevermark symbol and unique identification
number which is invisible to the un-aided eye. Forevermark ensures that the
diamond has been responsibly sourced; they are natural and untreated and
pertain to certain select standards.
De
Beers took the initiative of controlling the supply of conflict diamonds by
launching the Kimberly Certification Scheme in 2003. The governments of the
nations where diamonds are mined along with the Diamond industry and the United
Nations Organisation joint hands to halt the flow of these conflict diamonds
which are used to fund illegitimate operations. Under the scheme the rough
diamonds are certified stating that they are not financing any rebel group to
overthrow the legitimate government and the diamonds are not being imported or
exported to a non member of the scheme. For the year 2012 De Beers had revenue of
US $ 5.5 billion.
ALROSA: this company is
another giant venture which tops the charts in leading diamond mining companies
of the world. Their major operations are carried out in regions of Russia.
This
company has a glorious history which dates back to the year 1955 when the Mir
kimberlite pipe and the Udachnaya pipe were discovered along with 15 other
sources. The Udachny mine which operates on the Udachnaya pipe is the second
largest diamond mine in the world with estimated 152 Mct (million carats) of
diamond reserves as of year 2013. On an average this mine produces 10 Mct of
diamonds every year. The Mir mine is the third largest mine in the world with
estimated reserves of 141 Mct.
 |
| MIR MINE |
 |
| UDACHNAYA PIPE |
In its early days the company was recognised
by the name of Yakutalmaz enterprises and they set up their first unit. Many
other deposits were located in the Yakutia region and subsequently diamonds
from these markets were being sold all over the world. In the year 1960 they
discovered the Aikhal mines in the Yakutia region which is one of the largest
mines in Russia and produces 2.5 Mct on an average every year.
Yakutalmaz
achieved another milestone with the discovery of Jubilee mines in the year
1975, which is the biggest diamond mine in the world. The production started in
1986. With estimated reserves of 153 Mct as of 2013. The mine produces over 10
Mct on an average every year.
The
Catoca mine in Angola in Africa in 1997 recovered its first diamonds. It is a
joint venture enterprise in which Alrosa has 32.8% share. This mine has an
estimated reserve of 130 Mct of diamonds and on an average produce 6-7 Mct
every year. In the next few years Alrosa opened its offices in Antwerp, London
and Luanda.
With
the onset of the new millennium Alrosa found new deposits in Nyurba which is a
very rich diamondiferous region. Mining here has unearthed fine quality
diamonds. In the year 2007 Yakutalmaz group celebrates glorious 50 years. In
the subsequent years Botoubinskaya pipe was discovered, which again is a
promising source of diamonds. The production is set to start in 2015 and it is
estimated to produce 1.5 Mct of diamonds every year.
Alrosa
had estimated revenue of over US $ 4 billion for the year 2012.
RIO TINTO: the
word Rio Tinto in Spanish literally means red river. The Rio Tinto group of
companies was established in the year 1873 and Rio Tinto Diamonds is the
company which looks into the mining and production of diamonds.
Rio Tinto Diamonds marked its place in the
diamond mining industry in the year 1972 when Ashton Mining Limited found
diamond deposits in the Kimberley region of Australia. Conzinc Rio Tinto of
Australia (previous name of Rio Tinto) took over the management of Ashton
mining and in subsequent years discovered the diamondiferous lamproite pipes.
In 1983, Argyle mine was set up. This is one of the biggest mine in the world
and is the leading producer of naturally colored diamonds, mostly pink. This
mine has a capacity of producing 20 Mct of diamond rough.
 |
| ARGYLE MINE |
 |
| PINK DIAMONDS |
Another
important mine of Rio Tinto is the Diavik mine in Canada on an island in Lac de
Gras. It is a joint venture between Diavik Diamond Mines Inc. (a subsidiary of
Rio Tinto Diamonds-60%) and Doiminion Diamond Diavik limited partnership (40%).
The diamonds were discovered in the 1990 and the mine started operation in 2003.
The mine operates on three kimberlite pipes. This mine on an average produces
over 7 Mct of diamonds every year.
 |
| DIAVIK MINE |
Murowa
Diamond mine located in Zimbabwe is owned by Rio Tinto (78%) in partnership
with Riozim Limited (22%). The kimberlite pipes were discovered in 1997 and the
production started in 2004. The mine produces on an average 2.5 Mct of diamonds
every year.
The
Bunder project of Rio Tinto, in Madhya Pradesh, India is the biggest diamond
project of the country. The area has extremely rich diamond deposits and would
beat Panna mines in terms of production. Rio Tinto is soon expected to get a
license to commence mining.
Diamond
mining companies play a very important role in the industry as they are wholly
responsible to bring these awe-striking diamonds to end users like us. In depth
knowledge of these companies can not only help one to gain valuable knowledge
about the process but also understand the diamond market.
*Picture Courtesy: Google Images
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