De Beers Canada has cancelled its four-week December production shutdown at the Snap Lake Diamond mine.

The news comes two weeks after Rio Tinto, majority owner of the Diavik diamond mine, cancelled its own winter shutdown.

“We’ve met with all of our employees on site and in Yellowknife and will continue to meet with employees coming back to site (on their rotations),” said De Beers Canada spokesperson Cathie Bolstad. “We’re working to accommodate any employees who had made plans to be off.”

After visiting with workers at the mine, Bolstad said, “I think there’s a sense of relief, a relief in terms of they’re seeing positive signs in the industry.”

Responding to a reduced demand for diamonds worldwide, De Beers shut down Snap Lake from July 22 to August 26, with only 60 workers remaining on site per rotation. The company also reduced its rate of production to align with slumping demand.

Even with December production back on the schedule, the mine’s rate of production is “still a curtailed production rate and significantly below the mine’s capability, which is 1.5 million carats per year,” said Bolstad.

In 2008, the mine, which officially began commercial production halfway through the year, produced 926,000 carats, accounting for 6.9 per cent of diamonds produced in the NWT that year.

Bolstad could not provide a production estimate for 2009 as of press time.

As for next year, Bolstad said, “A number of scenarios have been presented and have been making their way through the family of companies and there’s a series of approvals associated with that.

“We anticipate we will have a decision from our board of directors on De Beers Canada’s 2010 plans early in November.”

Snap Lake currently employs 584 direct De Beers employees and contract workers. Of those employees, 251 live in the NWT.

De Beers’ shutdown cancellation is the latest in a series of positive signs that suggest the Yellowknife diamond industry is regaining its health after summer production shutdowns and staff cutbacks at the Diavik and Snap Lake mines.

Earlier this week, Arslanian Cutting Works announced it has rehired an additional 14 cutters and polishers, bringing the total number of staff at the plant to 19. The company, which employed 35 people before the financial meltdown, hopes to rehire more employees early next year.

In addition, the HRA Group of Companies, which owns the Crossworks Manufacturing plant, stated it plans to significantly expand its small plant, which currently employs 11 people.

Src: http://www.nnsl.com

HRD Antwerp NV, the subsidiary of the Antwerp World Diamond Centre (AWDC), is extending its diamond certification services with a special fast-track route for diamonds requiring urgent processing.

As of the beginning of this month, diamonds delivered before 10.00 am at the HRD Antwerp - Diamond Lab will be returned certified the same day, after 4 pm. This special service is offered at a 30% additional fee, explains an HRD Antwerp release.

“Providing this service allows diamond dealers to speed up business transactions,” said Georges Brys, General Manager HRD Antwerp. “The new service addresses requests from the diamond industry to immediately be able to supply a diamond with its corresponding certificate.”

The number of diamonds that can be processed daily is limited, warns the HRD Antwerp, so the service will be operated on a “first come, first serve” basis.

Src: http://www.diamondintelligence.com

Rio Tinto is delighted to announce its support as lead sponsor to the new and innovative India Diamond Jewelry Promotion campaign (IDJP).

This campaign, referred to as Anant, meaning ‘Eternal”, was launched in Mumbai onSeptember 16. The aim of the program is to work with Indian retailers and diamondjewellery manufacturers to drive domestic demand for diamonds, and strengthen India’s share in the international market for diamonds and diamond jewellery.

According to Jean-Marc Lieberherr, General Manager for the sales and marketing for allRio Tinto’s diamonds, “India is very well placed to reap the rewards of this program given its historical diamondjewellery manufacturing capability, and the driving role of the Gem and Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC), the apex body of India’s gem and jewelry industry.” Rio Tinto, who recently celebrated 20 years in India, is well placed to play a lead role inthis campaign.

Rio Tinto has a strong track record of unique partnerships with the Indiandiamond industry, including;

• creating awareness and acceptance of Indian made diamond jewellery in the US;
• paving the way for direct sales to US retailers; and
• its groundbreaking work in India to drive safety, product assurance and quality control across the whole value chain.

According to Vikram Merchant, Manager of Rio Tinto Diamonds’ Indian representativeoffice in Mumbai, “the world is looking to India as a driver of future growth in the diamond industry, be that through their highly innovative and flexible manufacturing sector, or as an end consumer of diamonds. The IDJP is an ideal platform for Rio Tinto to work collaboratively with our partners and the industry, including the GJEPC, to create demand for diamonds throughout the distribution pipeline.”

The Anant campaign will be implemented from September 2009 to February 2010.Promising Bollywood star, Sonam Kapoor has been signed up as the face of the Anantcampaign which will cover 15 major Indian cities targeting 1.5 million affluent consumers.