Tag: Diamond

Some of my peers from the Global Extraction Network course and I went to the Christie’s Geneva evening auction in November and witnessed a spectacle of hierarchies and secrecy that made the evening truly interesting, despite a lack of purchasing power and a looming fear of lifting a hand or finger at the wrong time. … Read More

Diamonds together with graphite are the solid form of carbon. The difference is in the molecular structure, which makes it the hardest known material and the one with the greatest thermal conductivity.… Read More

It is estimated that there are only 30 red diamonds in the world, with each being less than half a carat. Its red color is due to an atomic deformity caused by extreme pressure.… Read More

Main regions of extraction : Botswana, Russia, Canada, Namibia, Angola, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Australia, Congo (in 2015)

Method of extraction : industrial or traditional

• Pipe mining (primary deposits): open-pit mining, underground mining
• Alluvial mining (secondary deposits)
• Marine mining

Process of recovery :
1- Crushing
2 – Scrubbing
3 – Cyclonic separation plant
4 – Recovery
5 – Cleaned, weighted and packaged

Stakeholders : States, mining firms, luxury goods industry, customers, rebel armed groups, workers…

Key issues :

• Conflict/blood diamond : human right abuses, labor conditions, child labor, violence, civil wars…
• Kimberley Process : ignores some issues (human rights abuse, environment…)
• Environmental costs : land and water devastated
• Illegal mining
• Traceability

Exchange rate : Mineral : Nasdaq OTC Bull : 0.0228 USD (+3.64%)

Other key words :
4 C’s : cut, clarity, color, carat weight
Synthetic diamonds
Ethical diamonds

 … Read More

The Diamond as Big as des Bergues.
Erik Post

Two desks and four security guards flank the lectern in the middle of the podium.… Read More