Diamonds are one of the most significant areas of investment opportunity in the world, but figures from the industry range widely from one area of the country to the next. Here is a look at some of the leading diamond industries around the world. In addition, how they fared over the first months of 2008.
 Dubai’s Diamond Industry Sees Excellent Growth
Dubai, known not only for its diamonds but also for its fabulous holiday location to those in Europe, saw a good growth amount during the first months of 2008. The rough diamond trade here rose by some 32 percent for the first quarter of the year. This helped it to increase well above US $1,526,500,000, which is an increase over US $1,152,598,000 during the first quarter of 2007. This is a significant increase for the industry.
A closer look reveals that imports rose by 23 percent during this time, up from US $496 million to US $611 million. Exports also rose even more significantly by 39 percent. They rose from US $656 million to US $915 million. These figures are in contrast to the same period in 2007.
The question many are asking about this specific area of diamonds is will it continue. According to Youri Steverlynck, who is the Chief Executive Officer of the Dubai Diamond Exchange, ” Despite global concerns over rising prices, Dubai’s rough diamond trade continues to grow steadily, providing clear evident of the value added services offered by the Emirate. With Almas Tower becoming fully operation over the next few months, we anticipate this growth to continue.”
The largest trade partners come from Angola, the United Kingdom, Germany, Belgium, and from India. Also notable was that trade with China in diamonds has had considerable growth during the first period of the year. Exports rose to over 670 percent. This increase in demand is under the belief to have a driving force at least in part by the growing industry of jewelry manufacturing that has developed in China.
Drop in Diavik Diamond Mine
While that is good news for Dubai, the same may not be said for A154 South pipe, which is at the Diavik Diamond Mine. Diamond production there was 1.8 million carats. That is a very significant drop of 31 percent from the same time in 2007. The reasons for this are many, but it is mainly receiving the blame on the lower quality of ore grade found as well as the processed volumes. The problem stems from the fact that the current production situation is removing low-grade product from this region of the A154 pipeline, which is in contrast to the better job that was being complete last year.
They encountered additional problems at the Diavik Diamond Mine as well. These were very cold (extremely cold temperatures) not normal for the region that happened during the first quarter of 2008 as well. This causes a number of problems with equipment, including reliability and productivity of the entire mining system. The reduction in the equipment and productivity levels caused lower ore to have recovery and processed at this facility.
This information was a delivery from a representative from the Diavik Diamond Mines Incorporated Company. They are responsible for mine operations. The mine is located about 300 kilometers northeast from Yellowknife. This is located in the Northwest Territory of Canada.
Not all is lost for the Diavik Diamond Mine though, in terms of growth and expectations for this year. The company did say in their press release and news statement that they were continuing with plans on the A418 open pit preparation. That diamond production location is set to begin production in the second quarter of 2008. During the first quarter, development on this mine was not stopped. It advanced some 20 kilometers in terms of tunneling as well as ventilation into the mining area. This open pit mining production will start in the middle of 2008, but underground mining here is set to begin during 2009, with all open pits mining to be no longer running by 2012.
In addition, notable about the Diavik Diamond Mind is that the company continues to explore their options. They own a large amount of block around the mine, which they are heavily using and exploring for diamond mining. The company has a large budget of nearly US $10 million to work through development during the 2008 year.
Diamonds may be a hot commodity, but there are no guarantees in this line of resource. There is some concern over inflation on a global scale, which could harm the ability to purchase diamonds readily. There mining industry has not let up production to compensate for a possible decline in interest, though, and it should have no plans of doing so in the near or distant future.
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