Keeping giant gems intact during mining a challenge for producers
London
A BLACK-AND-YELLOW dump truck rumbles up from a giant pit in the mountains of southern Africa, carrying a load of freshly blasted slate-grey rock from the Letseng mine. With luck it will contain a golf-ball sized diamond worth perhaps US$20 million. With even more luck the stone won't get smashed.
Keeping giant gems intact during the mining process is a challenge for the two companies that account for most of the global production of these multimillion-dollar whoppers. They've unearthed 15 of the 20 largest diamonds found in the past decade. Almost every one lost a chunk at some point in the process, including a stone called the Lesedi La Rona that is the largest found in more than a century.
BT is now on Telegram!
For daily updates on weekdays and specially selected content for the weekend. Subscribe to t.me/BizTimes
Energy & Commodities
Seatrium unit to fully redeem S$500 million worth of floating-rate bonds early
Anglo rejects BHP takeover bid as significantly undervalued
India rice prices at three-month low on shrinking demand
Gold prices set for weekly decline ahead of US inflation data
Pricey coffee is here to stay as hoarding, heat hit Vietnam supply
Oil settles higher as weak US economic growth offset by supply concerns