22 february 2021
04 january 2021 The diamond industry commenced the 2020 year on a very positive note having faced a challenging 2019. There was an improved sentiment in the global rough diamond market with a pick-up in mid-stream demand and rough prices. However, the positive sentiment was short-lived as the COVID-19 pandemic caused widespread uncertainty and disruption across the world. To curb the spreading of the virus, governments across the globe introduced lockdowns and closed their borders. This resulted in several diamond operations being mothballed or had their production capacity reduced late in March or early April 2020. In this article, I explore how junior diamond miners with operations in Africa, are doing or have done to preserve their businesses amid the COVID-19 pandemic and how successful (or lack thereof) are they?