Pangea closes private placement
by Jo Black
Pangea DiamondFields plc has closed its previously announced private placement of 16.5 million ordinary shares at £0.46 per ordinary share for gross proceeds of approximately C$15 million (the ‘Offering’).
The Offering was placed by a syndicate led by RBC Capital Markets and including Ambrian Partners Limited.
Application has been made to the AIM Market of the [...]
5th member of Sarin Century Club
by Jo BlackSarin Technologies announced that Indian diamond manufacturer and exporter Kiran Gems was accepted as the fifth member of the exclusive Sarin Century Club, by having acquired over 100 Sarin rough planning machines for its manufacturing operations in India.
Established in 1985, with a workforce of over 17,000 employees, sales offices in New York, Antwerp, Hong Kong, [...]
Yehuda to fight Blue Nile action
by Jo BlackThe Yehuda Diamond Company has told a federal court in Washington State that it has done nothing wrong in comparing the price and appearance of its clarity-enhanced diamonds to those natural non-enhanced stones sold by competitor, Blue Nile Inc.
In defending itself against a lawsuit filed by Blue Nile, Yehuda Diamond said in a [...]
Christie’s 2007 jewelry sales up
by Jo Black
Dominated by diamonds, jewellery sales at Christie’s totalled close to $400 million in 2007, an increase of 11% over 2006 ($355 million), which was already up by 27% over a then record 2005 ($279 million).
These results, the highest ever achieved by any auction house, confirm Christie’s position of world market leader for jewellery auctions. 2007 [...]
Zale provides January sales
by Jo Black
Zale Corporation ZLC, a leading specialty retailer of fine jewelry in North America, has reported that for the second quarter ended January 31, 2008, comparable store sales decreased 7.3%. Revenues for the second quarter were $827 million compared to $892 million last year, a decrease of 7.3%. As previously announced, the sale of Bailey Banks [...]
GIA appoints MD, Southern Africa
by Jo BlackThe Gemological Institute of America (GIA) has announced the selection of Marie-Josée Trépanier as Managing Director, Southern Africa, effective February 1, 2008.
Working in coordination with GIA corporate management, Trépanier will be responsible for providing on-site project management and in-country guidance for the setup of new facilities and support functions for Southern Africa (South Africa [...]
Vaaldiam recovers record diamond
by Jo Black
Vaaldiam Resources Ltd. reports that a record sized gem quality diamond of 15.68 carats has been recovered at its wholly-owned Duas Barras mine in the State of Minas Gerais, Brazil. This large, light yellow octahedral stone is 81% larger than the previous largest diamond recovered at Duas Barras of 8.68 carats. Production from the Duas [...]
Buffalo Head Hills Drill program
by Jo Black
Grizzly Diamonds Ltd. announces that the 2008 drilling program has commenced at its Buffalo Head Hills Diamond Project in Northern Alberta. The initial plans are to drill 8 to 10 targets during the upcoming winter drilling program in order to test for the presence of kimberlite.
A minimum of four high priority geophysical targets will [...]
Fort a La Corne reports positive results
by Jo Black
George H. Read, P. Geo., Senior Vice President Exploration and Development, is pleased to announce the first set of diamond results from underground bulk sampling of the Orion South Kimberlite, within the Fort a La Corne Joint Venture (FALC-JV) where Shore is the operator with a 60 percent interest and Newmont Mining Corporation of Canada [...]
Rio Tinto rejects BHP’s offer
by Jo Black
The Boards of Rio Tinto have given careful consideration to BHP Billiton’s pre-conditional offers to acquire the whole of the issued share capital of Rio Tinto plc and Rio Tinto Limited. Under this proposal each Rio Tinto share would be exchanged for 3.4 BHP Billiton shares.
The Boards have concluded that the pre-conditional offers significantly undervalue [...]
Macy’s initiatives to drive sales
by Jo BlackMacy’s, Inc.announced new initiatives to strengthen local market focus and enhance selling service which, in combination with the consolidation of three Macy’s divisions, is expected to enable the company to both accelerate same-store sales growth and reduce expense.
Improving sales and earnings performance requires innovation in engaging our customer more effectively in every store, as well [...]
Substantial increase in Blue Gum
by Jo Black
Mountain Lake Resources Inc. announces that Etruscan Diamonds Ltd. (”Etruscan Diamonds”) has received a National Instrument 43-101 compliant independent resource update on its Blue Gum Diamond Project in South Africa which substantially increases the resource on the project. The independent resource update, prepared by Dr. Tania Marshall of Explorations Unlimited, estimates that the Blue Gum [...]
Pimenta Bueno bulk sample underway
by Jo Black
Vaaldiam Resources Ltd. has started processing a mini-bulk sample from its 2.3 hectare Cosmos 1 kimberlite pipe, one of 38 kimberlite pipes and 3 kimberlite dike systems that have been discovered on its 100%-owned Pimenta Bueno property in Rondonia, Brazil. Eighteen of the pipes discovered to date are diamond bearing based on sampling completed. Only [...]
Blue Nile expands new markets
by Jo BlackBlue Nile, Inc., the leading online retailer of diamonds and fine jewelry, has announced that it will offer international shipping to twelve new countries throughout Europe and Asia-Pacific. In addition to the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and Ireland, the Company will now serve customers in Australia, Belgium, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, Netherlands, [...]
BRC Diamond begins trading on JSE
by Jo BlackBRC Diamond Corporation announces that its common shares have been listed on the JSE Limited (”JSE”) in Johannesburg and that trading of such shares on the JSE commenced today, February 4, 2008, under the trading symbol “BCD”.
This listing precedes the pending merger of the businesses of BRC and Diamond Core Resources Limited (”Diamond Core”). [...]
Rockwell held first sale of 2008
by Jo BlackRockwell Diamonds Inc. reports on its first sale for 2008 completed on January 29.
The Company offered a total of 1,863.53 carats for sale, representing production for December 2007 and early January 2008 from the Wouterspan, Holpan, and Klipdam mining operations and the Makoenskloof bulk sampling project.
Rockwell realized total revenue of US$4,316,572 for this sale, representing [...]
Diamonds North Qavvik-1 Kimberlite results
by Jo Black
Diamonds North Resources Ltd. announces diamond results for the Qavvik-1 kimberlite on its 100% owned Amaruk property in the Pelly Bay Diamond District of Nunavut. The Company has identified two main kimberlite lithologies from the Qavvik-1 drill core; a macrocrystic kimberlite (MK) and a sparsely macrocrystic kimberlite breccia (SMKB).
Based on these results, Diamonds North [...]
Etruscan updates Blue Gum
by Jo BlackEtruscan Resources Inc. announced that Etruscan Diamonds (Pty) Ltd. has received a National Instrument 43-101 compliant independent resource update on its Blue Gum Diamond Project in South Africa which substantially increases the resource on the project. The independent resource update prepared by Dr. Tania Marshall of Explorations Unlimited estimates that the Blue Gum Diamond Project [...]
WGI announces new VP for U.S.
by Jo BlackThe World Gemological Institute (WGI), an international diamond grading and research center, announced the appointment of Barak Green as Vice President, Strategy & Development for the United States. In addition, the World Gemological Institute announced its plans to offer informative presentations at trade shows and industry events throughout 2008 to communicate the benefits of World [...]
Vaaldiam Resources appoints new CFO
by Jo BlackVaaldiam Resources Ltd. announces that Frances Kwong has been appointed Chief Financial Officer of the Corporation effective February 1, 2008 on the retirement of Robert Yeoman from this position.
A member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales, Frances Kwong was formerly Controller of Vaaldiam. David Shimoda, a member of the Canadian [...]