Gem Diamonds unearths 125-carat diamond in Lesotho
Cecilia Jamasmie | June 2, 2022 | 5:46 am News Africa Diamond
The 125-carat diamond. found at Letšeng. (Image courtesy of Gem Diamonds.)
"Africa-focused Gem Diamonds (LON: GEMD) has found a 125-carat rough stone at its Letšeng mine in Lesotho, the miner’s second rock over 100 carats mined this year.
The company, known for the recovery of large, high-quality stones in 2020, has seen output of high-quality diamonds surpassing the 100-carat mark become less frequent over the past year.
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In 2021, Gem Diamonds found only six of such diamonds at Letšeng, compared to the 16 it discovered in 2020.
The find comes as prices for small diamonds have jumped about 20% since the start of March, as cutters, polishers and traders struggle to source stones outside Russia.
State-owned Russian miner Alrosa (MCX: ALRS), the world’s top diamond producer by output, was hit with US sanctions following Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.
Higher prices for lower-end stones are good news for miners, but not a game changer, experts say. While every mine is different, a general rule is that 20% of production — the best stones — account for about 80% of profits.
Since acquiring Letšeng in 2006, the company has found more than 60 white gem quality diamonds over 100 carats each, with 16 of them ... "
https://www.mining.com/gem-diamonds-une ... in-lesotho
