Gem Diamonds
$214.3 million (2017)[1] | |
| Website | www.gemdiamonds.com |
|---|---|
Gem Diamonds is a
History
The business was founded by Clifford Elphick in July 2005.[3]
The company acquired Letšeng diamond mine in 2006, and has since found five of the 20 largest known white gem quality diamonds, elevating the mine to the highest dollar-per-carat kimberlite diamond operation in the world.[4]
The company was first listed on the London Stock Exchange in 2007.[5]
In 2007, the company began diamond prospecting on traditional
Construction of the first phase of a mine, Ghaghoo, located 45 km within the Eastern border of the Central Kalahari Game Reserve began in 2011.[7] It is a controversial matter as the government of Botswana has allowed for mining exploration and construction within a game reserve originally intended for the Bushmen and the wildlife they subsist on. While one cannot directly prove the government's intentions, a year before this exploration began the government started the forced removal of the Bushmen from their lands.
Significant gem discoveries
In 2006, the company announced that it had found a diamond of 603 carats (120.6 g) at the Letseng diamond mine in Lesotho, which became known as the Lesotho Promise.[8]
In January 2018, a larger stone was discovered at Letseng, measuring 910 carats (182 g) — the fifth-largest gem-quality diamond ever found.
In March 2018, the company announced recovery of its seventh diamond over 100 carats at Letseng during the first quarter of 2018, a "top white colour Type IIa diamond," measured at 169 carats (33.8 g).[12][13]
Several of Gem Diamond's significant finds in Lesotho have been purchased by
Operations
The Company has mines in the following locations:
See also
References
- ^ Preliminary Results 2011[permanent dead link]
- ^ "Gem Diamonds Annual Report and Accounts" (2017), Gem Diamonds Limited, B.V.I., 2018.
- ^ Gem Diamonds May Close Mine Following Price Plunge Bloomberg, 1 April 2009
- ^ a b Jamasmie, Cecilia "Gem Diamonds shares on fire as miner finds 910-carat rock", Mining.com, January 15, 2018. Retrieved March 14, 2018.
- ^ Gem Diamonds sparkles in R4bn London IPO Mining Weekly, 14 February 2007
- ^ Controversy stalks Gem Diamonds’ Botswana project, October 30, 2007. Minweb.com. Accessed on March 2, 2009.
- ^ Gem Diamonds Operations Overview. Gemdiamonds.com.
- ^ Lesotho diamond put up for sale BBC News, 5 October 2006
- ^ Gem Diamonds Archived 2018-01-15 at the Wayback Machine GemDiamonds.com, January 15, 2018.
- ^ Gibbs, Alexandra "‘The Lesotho Legend': The fifth-largest gem diamond in history sells for $40 million", CNBC, 13 March 2018. Retrieved March 14, 2018.
- ^ Rapaport "910ct. Lesotho Diamond Sells for $40M", Diamonds.net, March 13, 2018. Retrieved March 14, 2018.
- ^ Reuters "Gem recovers 169 ct diamond at Letšeng", Mining Weekly, March 14, 2018. Retrieved March 14, 2018.
- ^ Gem Diamonds "RECOVERY OF 169 CARAT DIAMOND" (Gem press release), March 14, 2018. Retrieved March 14, 2018.