London Mining NetworkDe Beers | London Mining Network

Rio wields the diamond blade

michaela — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 10:08:20 +0000

About three months after BHP Billiton announced it was reviewing the future of its diamonds business with a view to selling it, Rio Tinto has followed suit with its own strategic review. The decisions of both of the big miners to question the future of diamonds within their portfolios might, at face value, appear odd. The fundamentals for the sector appear quite solid, with rising demand and little new supply. Demand for diamonds tends to grow with living standards and therefore they lag peaks in demand for hard commodities like iron ore or copper. Rio itself expects demand from India and China to double by the end of this decade. So why sell?

See http://www.businessspectator.com.au/bs.nsf/Article/Rio-diamonds-BHP-Argyle-sale-future-portfolio-De-B-pd20120327-SS5V5?opendocument&src=rss.

Canada mining boom leaves natives in the cold

michaela — Fri, 02 Mar 2012 20:40:51 +0000

Despite living just 90km from a massive diamond mine, Jackie Hookimaw Witt has watched poverty tear at the fabric of Attawapiskat, an indigenous community in northern Canada…”Why are our people living in such extreme poverty when we are so close to this rich mine?” asked Witt, a mining critic born and raised in Attawapiskat…

A spokesperson for De Beers, the international firm which owns the Victor mine, told Al Jazeera that Canada’s government and indigenous groups need to work out some kind of revenue sharing agreement. Presently, De Beers pays money to Attawapiskat via a trust fund the company has set up, although it says it is not mandated by law to do this…

Critics say the company profits at the expense of local communities and public revenue. “In 2010, the company reported that they didn’t pay any taxes at either of their Canadian mines,” said Ramsey Hart, an analyst with Mining Watch Canada, an environmental watchdog. (London-based Anglo American owns 45% of De Beers and hopes to control the company by the end of this year.)

See http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2012/02/201221017545565952.html.

Diamond houses keep fingers crossed after change of guard at De Beers

Richard — Sat, 17 Dec 2011 15:27:20 +0000

For decades, a quaint practice marks the secretive world of diamond trade. Every five weeks, elite diamond houses from all over the world assemble in a room in London, and behind the closed doors, each one of them is given a small box of rough stones by De Beers – the cartel known for its formidable clout and control on the supply of roughs. Every box contains a mix of good and not-so-good stones. The buyers quietly pick the boxes and take flights back to Mumbai or Antwerp, where the stones are cut and polished by skilled craftsmen. No questions are asked. No one has a choice.

But the visits to London will soon come to an end. A year from now, the diamond houses will have to send their men to Botswana – the African country that in the coming years may call the shots in the business.

See http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2011-12-13/news/30511747_1_roughs-diamond-auctions-diamond-trading.

(De Beers is controlled by Anglo American plc.)

De Beers won’t touch Zimbabwe diamonds

Richard — Sat, 26 Nov 2011 18:20:22 +0000

De Beers high-quality diamond retail arm Forevermark will not sell any diamonds from Zimbabwe’s controversial Chiadzwa and fields, CEO Stephen Lussier said at the launch of the exclusive brand in South Africa.

This comes after the industry regulator, the Kimberley Process, gave Zimbabwe the green light to resume diamond exports from Marange.

See http://www.mining.com/2011/11/13/de-beers-wont-touch-zimbabwe-diamonds/.

De Beers is controlled by London-listed Anglo American.

Oppenheimers flog De Beers stake to Anglo American

Richard — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 17:09:53 +0000

Shining under the blazing African sun, diamonds have an allure consummate with their high price and beauty. For Anglo American, a Fortune 500 globally diversified miner, the opportunity to get their hands on some more sparkle has proved too much to resist. Last week the mining giant announced that it would acquire the 40 percent of De Beers, a company that mines two-fifths of the world’s diamonds, from the Oppenheimer family for USD5.1 billion. This would take Anglo-American’s stake in De Beers to 85 percent; the rest is owned by the government of Botswana, where the firm rakes in over 60 percent of its profit thanks to Botswana’s four profitable mines.

See http://www.botswanaguardian.co.bw/newsdetails.php?nid=2937&cat=BG%20News.

‘Our suffering is for ever’, mined-out town tells De Beers in South Africa

Richard — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 12:52:20 +0000

Residents of Hondeklipbaai, a small community in coastal northwest South Africa, has lodged a land claim against the world’s largest diamond mining company, Anglo-De Beers.

The community is angered that the company has reneged on its promise to adequately rehabilitate its mined-out area, and plans to sell the lease to a much smaller diamond outfit, Trans Hex.

Recalling that De Beers has exploited his peoples’ territory for around 80 years, community leader Dawid Markus declared: “We are still living in dire poverty. De Beers says ‘a diamond is for ever’. The reality here is that our suffering is for ever”.

See http://www.minesandcommunities.org/11263.

Borehole breakthrough for Botswana’s Bushmen

Richard — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 14:25:52 +0000

Survival International has been speaking to Bushmen from the Central Kalahari Game Reserve as they celebrate drinking water from the Mothomelo borehole for the first time in nine years. It marks a significant step towards their full return to their ancestral lands following a landmark court ruling in 2006.

Survival believes the Bushmen were evicted from their land due to its rich diamond reserves. De Beers, one of the world’s largest diamond companies held the mining concession at Gope, a Bushman community for 25 years. However following the negative publicity from Survival’s campaign it sold its diamond deposit at Gope to Gem Diamonds in 2007. Gem Diamonds is now developing its mine within the Kalahari Reserve, whilst funding projects to re-instate and drill new boreholes.

See http://www.survivalinternational.org/news/7662.

De Beers under fire over dumps and deaths

Richard — Thu, 28 Jul 2011 10:17:44 +0000

Diamond giant De Beers deliberately misled the South African government about the task of repairing its enormous mine dumps along the West Coast, estimated to cover an area the size of 2000 football fields. So says a report submitted to government this week. It also says De Beers withheld vital information and downplayed possibly “devastating consequences” related to the more than 1025ha of fenced-off dumps.

See http://www.timeslive.co.za/sundaytimes/2011/07/24/de-beers-under-fire-over-dumps-and-deaths.

India’s “Corporate Socialism” enjoys a tax orgy: De Beers, Rio Tinto, BHP, benefit from robbing the poor

Richard — Fri, 18 Mar 2011 10:12:47 +0000

The government of the world’s poorest state (by aggregated numbers of impoverished people) has been accused of granting tax concessions to corporate enterprises amounting to 2. 4 billion rupees – around US$ 48 million – each day. We say “accused” – but the Indian government officially describes this huge figure as “Revenue forgone (sic) under corporate income tax, excise and customs”.

See http://www.minesandcommunities.org/article.php?a=10770.

“We’re not here for De Beers” – Indigenous Peoples

Richard — Tue, 11 Jan 2011 15:00:52 +0000

The world’s biggest diamond mining and sales’ company, De Beers, has angered Indigenous land holders by its recent exploration forays in southern India and northern Canada.

UK-based Anglo American is the biggest shareholder in De Beers (at 45%), with the Oppenheimer family holding 40% and the goverment of Botswana 15%.

See http://www.minesandcommunities.org/article.php?a=10616.

Botswana government rejects high-profile court ruling

Richard — Wed, 22 Dec 2010 17:22:05 +0000

Four years on from a court victory which saw the Kalahari Bushmen win the right to live on their ancestral lands, the Botswana government has issued a statement flouting the ruling.

Survival International believes that the government’s attitude to the Bushmen is affected by the presence of diamonds in the traditional territory. Diamond companies active in Botswana include De Beers (45% owned by London-based Anglo American) and London-based Gem Diamonds.

See http://www.survivalinternational.org/news/6766.

Celebrities back Survival’s call to boycott Botswana diamonds

Richard — Thu, 04 Nov 2010 17:34:11 +0000

Gillian Anderson, Quentin Blake, Joanna Lumley, Sophie Okonedo, and Mark Rylance are amongst the celebrities who have pledged not to travel to Botswana or wear its diamonds until the Bushmen are allowed to live on their ancestral lands in peace.

Celebrated jeweller, Pippa Small, said, ‘As jewellers we have for years made sure that we do not use blood diamonds. Now we also need to boycott Botswana diamonds until the Bushmen are allowed to live and hunt freely on their land’.

Both De Beers (controlled by Anglo American) and Gem Diamonds are involved in Botswana.

See http://www.survivalinternational.org/news/6587.

US appeals court rejects De Beers’ $272.5m class action settlement

Richard — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 14:28:08 +0000

A U.S. appeals court has rejected a $272.5 million class-action settlement between De Beers and purchasers of the company’s diamonds who said they were harmed by the company’s antitrust behaviour. The appeals court sent the settlement back to a lower court for further consideration and to clarify which claims are subject to the treatment as a class, or group of plaintiffs who are allowed to sue the company collectively.

De Beers, the world’s top diamond producer, which is 45 percent owned by Anglo American, reached an agreement in 2005 to establish a $272.5 million fund for indirect purchasers of its diamonds. The settlement came after the company pleaded guilty in 2004 to a decade-old price-fixing charge, allowing it to compete directly in the United States. The class-action settlement was certified by a U.S. District Court in New Jersey but 34 of the indirect purchasers objected to the deal. The indirect purchasers include retailers, consumers and some middlemen.

See http://www.mineweb.com/mineweb/view/mineweb/en/page504?oid=107929&sn=Detail&pid=92730.

Debswana to proceed with Jwaneng Tailings Project

Richard — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 13:39:02 +0000

Firestone Diamonds plc, the AIM-quoted diamond mining and exploration company, is responsible for financing, construction and operation of the plant. Firestone Diamonds plc is an international diamond mining and exploration company with operations in Botswana and South Africa. Botswana is the world’s largest and lowest cost producer of diamonds, with annual production worth over $2.5 billion, and is considered to be one of the most prospective countries in the world to explore for diamonds. Firestone is the largest holder of mineral rights in Botswana’s diamondiferous kimberlite fields, controlling over 25,000 square kilometres around the major Orapa and Jwaneng mines and the entire Tsabong kimberlite field. Firestone has 103 kimberlites in its portfolio, of which BK11 is about to commence production, and 29 others have been proven to be diamondiferous.

Implementing a Corporate Free, Prior, and Informed Consent Policy: Benefits and Challenges

Richard — Tue, 18 May 2010 14:06:18 +0000

A report posted on the Business and Human Rights Resource Centre website deals with oil company Talisman Energy and the right of Indigenous Peoples to Free Prior Informed Consent before ‘development’ projects are carried out on their land.

The report also refers to Anglo American, De Beers, Rio Tinto and Xstrata.

See http://www.business-humanrights.org/Links/Repository/1000707.