RAPAPORT. The continued operation of Firestone Diamonds is in question amid an extended shutdown of its mine in Lesotho and heavy debt.
The miner will keep its Liqhobong deposit closed until it can work out a deal to restructure the more than $80 million in debt it owes ABSA bank, it told
Rapaport News Wednesday.
“We are in discussion with our debtholders to restructure our balance sheet, which is a prerequisite to restarting the mine,” said Firestone CEO Paul Bosma.
The company is also waiting for the market to recover from the blow Covid-19 caused to rough prices. When the miner put Liqhobong on care and maintenance in April, rough prices had made it economically unviable to continue producing diamonds.
National Jeweler conducted.
Nearly three-quarters of employers polled in the jewelry sector, and more than half of employees, reported their companies ranked very well when it came to these matters, JA said last week. In fact, 73% of employers said the trade ranked as well as, or better than, other industries in supporting Black employees, while 66% of employees said the same.
However, owners and workers had different opinions when it came to awareness of racial discrimination, the survey found. Some 95% of employers stated they had not witnessed or been made aware of any race-based discriminatory actions at their company. Meanwhile, 11% of employees said they were aware of race-based discrimination at their current workplace, while 15% had noticed it at a past employer, and 24% had seen or heard about it at other companies in the jewelry industry.
Michael Hill’s sales slipped 2.8% in the first half of its fiscal year as a lockdown in Canada outweighed growth in the Australian market.Group revenue decreased to AUD 317.5 million ($243.6 million) during the six months ending December 27, as 21 of the company’s 86 stores in Canada closed.
RAPAPORT. Alrosa’s sales soared in December to their highest level in almost three years as rough demand continued to gain momentum.Diamond revenues rose 43% year on year to $521.6 million, with rough sales jumping 34% to $470.3 million totals the Russian miner hasn’t exceeded since.
RAPAPORT. The two largest diamond miners increased prices at this week’s rough sales as demand improved due to post-holiday restocking and strong trading ahead of the Chinese New Year.De Beers raised prices by an average of 4% to 5% at its first sight of 2021, while Alrosa’s increases were.