DW SEPTEMBER - OCTOBER 2019

Round & About
Rough & Mining
Matryoshka diamond found in Yakutia
An unusual diamond with another
diamond moving freely inside
was mined in Yakutia at the Nyurba
mining and processing division of
ALROSA. Due to its peculiarity, the
stone resembles a traditional Russian
Matryoshka doll. According to the
experts who have studied the find,
this is the first such diamond in the
history of global diamond mining and
could be over 800 million years old.
Despite its complex structure, it
weighs only 0.62 carats (0.12 grams)
and dimensions of 4.8 x 4.9 x 2.8 mm.
The internal cavity has an estimated
weight of 0.02 carats (0.004 grams)
and dimensions of 1.9×2.1×0.6 mm.
"The most interesting thing
for us was to find out how the air
space between the inner and outer
diamonds was formed. Due to the
presence of the dissolved zone,
one diamond began to move freely
inside another on the principle of
matryoshka nesting doll," said Oleg
Kovalchuk, Deputy Director for
innovations at ALROSA's Research
and Development Geological
Enterprise.
Petra finds Big Blue Diamond at Flagship Mine
Petra Diamonds has found a 20.08 carat blue stone at its flagship mine
in South Africa, offering some relief to a miner struggling with weak
demand and a mountain of debt. The company said it found the gem quality
Type IIb diamond at its Cullinan mine. It gave no forecast on the price,
blue gem quality stones are among the most valuable in the world.
Petra’s share price collapsed to a record low amid falling diamond prices
and concerns that it will struggle to repay debts. It wrote down the value
of its mines by almost $250 million and said co-founder and Chairman
Adonis Pouroulis will depart, after its long-serving chief executive officer
left earlier this year. “With Petra’s balance sheet under focus, the recovery
and sale of special diamonds incremental to cash flow forecasts represents
a positive for the stock,” said BMO analysts Edward Sterck.
30 september-october 2019 DiamonD WorlD