The diamond mining industry has been long regarded as one of the most prestigious resource mining operations, and for good reason. Such precious stones have been created by Mother Nature, over the course of millions of years, in a few locations worldwide. Much like other mining and precious resources industries, the diamond mining industry has evolved through time from the first discovery of diamonds in some of the more remote places on the planet, to the current massive and sophisticated operations that now produce most of the world’s diamonds.

‘Blood Diamonds’ – Challenging a Long-Held Misconception of the Diamond Industry

Edward Zwick’s 2007 movie ‘Blood Diamond’ has cemented itself in the minds of many, and highlighted the need for greater and stricter regulation of diamond mines internationally. However, such tighter regulation was in fact already put in place and developing just a few years prior to the movie’s release. This regulation is known as the ‘Kimberley Process’ which prevents the proceeds of diamond sales from funding conflicts, terrorism or unlawful trading in the international diamond market and calls for the ethical treatment of workers, and the responsible use of funds and exports to conduct the mining of this precious resource. Many diamond mines globally now adhere to and follow the Kimberley Process. Unfortunately, despite the significant progress made by the industry over the past decade, there is still a lingering and widespread misconception about mining operations in the diamond industry.  Recently, I have had the opportunity to visit the world’s largest diamond mining company, De Beers, in South Africa, which enabled me to experience firsthand an in-depth, behind-the-scenes insight into the mining process, operation and challenges faced by the industry.

A Rare Glimpse into Diamond Mining

 In September 2019, De Beers opened its doors for the first time to the Venetia Diamond Mine to welcome 25 members of the Young Diamantaires* group; from over 10 countries. This was a group designed to represent the next generation of diamond industry members, founded by Mr. Rami Baron, Chairman of the Promotional Committee of the World Federation of Diamond Bourses (WFDB). The trip was also organized with great thanks to Mr. Ernest Blom, World President of the WFDB, Mr. Molefi Leftivski, Mr. Kealeboga Pule and Mr. Frank Auger. I was fortunate enough to be invited on this trip, and to learn first-hand, not only as a jeweller, but as an Exploration Geologist, about the mining operation and processing of rough diamonds at the mine site, and to experience conditions at the Venetia Mine. The colossal mine spans approximately 17.7 hectares, and contains two sections, an open-pit mine to a depth of 450 m, and an underground mine that spans nearly 1,000 m depth. The Venetia open pit mine opened in 1992, and provides the region with 4,365 jobs. It is South Africa’s largest diamond producer which produced 4.2 million carats in 2018. The underground portion of the mine has been deepened to a depth of 1,080 meters, extending the life of the mine until 2046, and producing a further 2,000 jobs in the process. This is no small operation, but what is not often discussed is the benefit that this scale of mining brings not only to local communities, but to the environment that it operates in and the development of the region. In light of the current trend towards synthetic stones and lab-created ‘diamonds’, there has never been a better time to discuss the key benefits of natural diamond mining.

The Unspoken Benefits of Natural Diamond Mining in South Africa

Perhaps not widely recognised is the major contribution large companies such as De Beers play in the role of education, healthcare, environment and employment in the communities and areas they are working in. While De Beers makes significant profits from diamond mining, major re-investment of capital back into local communities, the level of safety maintained at their mine sites and taking good environmental stewardship of the regions in which they operate is of paramount importance. De Beers promotes a strict policy of ‘Zero Harm’ with significant priority given to reducing Lost Time Injuries (LTI) at the Venetia mine site. De Beers were very forthcoming in sharing statistics and discussing incidents that have happened at the mine with full transparency. It was very apparent that employee safety is the company’s primary concern and taken extremely seriously. The mine site itself was clean and well-organized, with many safety measures in place to ensure safe and comfortable working conditions. One such example, was the installation of underground ‘rescue bays’, designed to rescue workers in the event of mine collapse or other major accidents where workers congregate in a secure area if trapped underground. We had the chance to speak openly with workers around the mine site who were on shift that day, and they were all too happy, allowing us to take photos and answer any questions that we had. Both women and men were working their shifts at the mine site wearing the appropriate safety gear and following procedure. The entire operation appeared well organised and managed with a strong emphasis on teamwork, following strict safety procedures while applying the ‘Zero Harm’ mindset to all tasks. Another key area that the company focusses on is the environment. One major example of this is when De Beers purchased 36,000 hectares surrounding the 17.7 hectares used for the Venetia Mine in order to create the Venetia Limpopo Nature Reserve (VLNR), which conserves and protects many native species, such as elephants, from harm and in particular poaching. Without the mine, this area would have been left as farming land excluding the protection and free range of many native species. De Beers is committed to preserving the natural landscape of South Africa, in that for every Baobab tree uprooted in the development of the Venetia Mine, the Baobab and its roots were preserved, and re-planted at the VLNR, in order to preserve the life of these iconic and important species. It is also important to note that one third of water used at the mine site is recycled for later use.

Investing In Their Future – Community Initiatives

In addition to providing thousands of jobs for local workers, the company has provided a multitude of benefits in terms of environmental and social benefits in the region. One such example is that De Beers has built 19 schools in the region to support the local community. The Limpopo region, where the mine is located, suffers from heavily over-enrolled schools, hence De Beers’ efforts in this area have been extremely important for young people. The company has also implemented the ‘De Beers Teacher Subvention Programme’ that provides the enhanced capacity for mathematics and science educators to work at schools. Such programs have been implemented at the Renaissance High School, Messina Primary, Eric Louw High School and Musina School. We were fortunate to visit the local Renaissance High School which revealed the extent of over-enrolment and an acknowledgement that there is still so much more to be done as the region expands. An important discussion was initiated by Mr. Baron, in which the participating Young Diamantaires members devised a plan to raise $140,000 USD to extend and upgrade the Renaissance Secondary School in the regional town of Musina in order to build a library and a commercial-grade cafeteria for the students studying at the school.  As an Exploration Geologist, I believe emphasis should be placed on working with secondary teachers to help develop a program for secondary students to learn about the Geosciences in order to provide them with a working background of how to responsibly explore for, mine and develop such precious resources.  These students are living in such a resource-rich country and such education would not only place them in a stronger position to understand the resources industry, but also enhance long-term job prospects. I will be exploring opportunities to volunteer at the end of my PhD studies to introduce more Geoscience education to secondary schools in this resource-rich region. Another very important area where De Beers makes an important contribution is its long-standing history of providing its employees with critical healthcare assistance. One such example is that as of 2019, nearly all of the company’s employees are aware of their HIV status and are fully medicated. In the last 10 years, there has been no HIV transmission between any mother employed by De Beers to her child which is a significant measure that demonstrates the company’s dedication to the healthcare of its employees.

The visit to the region also provided an opportunity to discuss initiatives to assist the growth and development of the Johannesburg-based diamond cutters. One initiative involves a pilot program of purchasing diamonds directly from the cutting and polishing manufacturers themselves in Johannesburg, as opposed to international intermediaries, in order to assist local business and to assist sales in the target countries. One final, but important fact is that De Beers has long-supported local women, with the Accelerating Women Owned Micro-Enterprises (AWOME) program. This program is designed to provide local women with micro-financed loans to start their own businesses and to create more jobs and administer business training in order to reduce the rate of unemployment, to reduce financial dependence and to build skills. Some such examples of these projects can be found at De Beers Group “Building Forever” initiative. These are just some of the benefits that have come from natural diamond mining. As discussed, the impact of the Venetia Mine has had far-reaching benefits across the communities in the region. While I have not had the experience of visiting many different diamond mines internationally, the experience to me as a diamond dealer, geologist and jeweller was invaluable. The transparency of De Beers in allowing us to view their operations at the Venetia Mine and speak to their people was greatly appreciated and underscores the confidence they have in their operations. It is my hope that every company follows this example, and employs similar practices and transparencies in mining their own diamonds.

The Synthetic ‘Diamond’ Trade – Marketing and Myths

The natural diamond mining industry is currently facing challenges from the synthetic diamond industry, which produces laboratory-manufactured diamonds. The story told by many synthetic or lab-grown diamond traders is that their stones are ‘conflict-free’, and ‘eco-friendly’. Firstly, it is simply incorrect to assume and market that all natural Earth-mined diamonds are derived from conflict areas, and mined in unethical, un-regulated mines used to fund terrorism and conflict. Secondly, in order to create a synthetic, or lab-made diamond, extreme temperature and pressure and the use of petroleum-based chemicals is applied to a ‘seed’ crystal to produce a fully man-manufactured stone. This process consumes a large amount of energy and chemicals, which produces a large quantity of emissions, heat and waste, per stone in large factories. This can hardly be argued as totally ‘eco-friendly’ when we consider the scale of production, the size of the factories and the methods for production that creates a synthetic stone.

The problem for synthetic diamond manufacturers is that while synthetic stones are still priced at ~20-30% less than natural Earth-mined diamonds, they actually cannot hold their value on the international market, which is a problem for the consumer. Why? Because anything that can be created en-masse in a laboratory with lack of scarcity value implies that the product’s supply is virtually endless, hence no appreciation or retention of value can be maintained. Consumers need to be made aware of the facts that divide lab-made and natural stones, and need to make the choice to purchase something beautiful and unique created by over millions of years that appreciates in value, or to compromise with an inferior product that cannot foreseeably hold its value, and has no limit to its supply. It is, however, important and reasonable to ask your jeweller or wholesaler where their diamonds are sourced to ensure that their diamonds are derived from conflict-free regions and regulated mines.

Our Diamonds and Process

At Saphira Diamonds, 100% of our diamonds are natural and Earth-mined, sourced from regulated mines in conflict-free regions.  We work only with manufacturers who purchase rough diamonds from mines that are regulated, and many who are part of the Responsible Jewellery Council and from countries and mines that follow the Kimberley Process. We recognise that purchasing diamonds is a significant investment and seek to provide our clients with the confidence, education and all of the facts required to make the right decision for them. We are proud to be part of the #realisrare movement, to support natural diamond mining and local communities and hope that this article has demonstrated another side to the diamond mining industry that you may not have previously been aware. Diamonds are a gift from Mother Nature that are to be enjoyed, admired and passed onto future generations. How lucky are we to have these beautiful resources on our planet? Let’s pledge to protect, honour and respect the process for enjoying these precious gems and to remember their true value in all that we do.

Adriana Lauren Traviati BSc (Hons)

Director, Saphira Diamonds

PhD Candidate, Exploration Geophysics, Monash University, Australia

* Mr. Rami Baron created the Young Diamantaires group in 2016, when he saw the need to help, introduce and inspire the next generation of Diamantaires through challenging times, and gave young people a voice by which to express their views on the ever-changing industry and to learn from other members, worldwide. His organization in the heavily over-subscribed Venetia Mine trip has set the scene for many wonderful events at natural diamond mines in future for so many other young industry professionals.

Diamond in normal range are colorless through light yellow. Fancy color diamonds are yellow and brown diamonds that show color beyond Z color or exhibiting any other color face-up. Such rare stones come in almost every color of spectrum but most importantly in blue, pink, green and red. As discussed in diamond grading article, diamonds in range of D-Z showing decrease in value by exhibiting color and the exact opposite happens for fancy color diamonds, their value increase by the strength and purity of color.

Graff Lesotho Pink Diamond, 13.33ct rough diamond

Pink Diamond: appearance of pink color in diamonds is a result of enormous pressure that leads to structural damage to the crystal lattice of the diamond after it has begun to grow. This distortion in the crystal structure cause internal graining which results in pink color zones to appear.

In fancy color diamonds, Color outweighs all other Cs (clarity, cut and carat) in determining the value. Color has three attributes that help grading it properly: hue (the appearance of red, blue, green, or anything in between), tone (the relative lightness or darkness of a color), and saturation (the relative strength or weakness of a color). The color
appearance of a diamond is the result of a combination of these three attributes.

The Okavango Blue; 20.46ct Type IIb ‘Fancy Deep Blue’ yielded from 41.11 rough diamond

Blue Diamond: Color of blue in diamonds is result of presence of Boron during formation. Boron is mostly available in larger quantities closer to the earth surface, therefore its presence in earth mantle where diamonds are formed is extremely rare, and that is why blue diamonds are so scarce.

The GIA color grading system uses nine grades to distinguish color ranges. These are: Fancy Vivid, Fancy Intense, Fancy Deep, Fancy Dark, Fancy, Fancy Light, Light, Very Light and Faint. For fancy colored diamonds, the general rule of thumb is that the stronger the hue, the more valuable the stone becomes.

Mouawad Dragon Diamond 54.21 fancy vivid yellow diamond yielded from 105ct rough diamond.

Yellow Diamond: Yellow in diamonds is caused by presence of nitrogen within the stone that filters blue/violet range of visible light spectrum and reflects yellow. Nitrogen is abundant in earth crust, it can often find a way into diamond during formation process.

Diamond types: pure carbon is the essential composition of diamonds. Many diamonds certain trace elements such as nitrogen or boron, acquired naturally during the formation. Availability of such trace elements and other imperfections are important because they cause the color and ultraviolet fluorescence reactions in diamond. The presence or absence of these lattice defects can affect a diamond’s appearance. Initially diamonds were divided in two types: Type I diamonds contain nitrogen and Type II diamonds show pure absence of nitrogen.

GIA Diamond Type Classification

Type Ia:
These diamonds contain nitrogen atoms in clusters. Approximately 95% of natural diamonds are type Ia. They normally vary from near-colorless to light yellow.  These so-called “cape” diamonds derived their name from diamonds that were initially mined in or near Cape Province, South Africa.

Type Ib:
These diamonds also contain nitrogen, but as isolated atoms instead of clusters. They are often bright yellow in color, and are extremely rare. The trade sometimes refers to these colors as “canary.”

Type IIa:
These diamonds have no measurable nitrogen or boron impurities; they are usually colorless but they can also be gray, light brown, light yellow or light pink.  Among all diamonds, those that are type IIa are chemically the most pure.

Type IIb:
These diamonds are known to conduct electricity. The trace element boron is responsible for most diamonds that are blue or grayish blue in color.

GIA Continuous Hue Circle

GIA Ligher Tone Hue Circle

GIA Darker Tone Hue Circle

Some of the 27 hue names include modifiers such as purplish or yellowish. A modifier in a hue name does not denote a lack of potential strength, or purity, to the color. Light or dark colors at low levels of saturation are challenging to discern. Thus, fewer terms are used in these areas (as evident in the hue circles for lighter and darker tone). These terms may be modified in one of two ways. The first is the use of the word pink as a substitute for red in the medium to light tones and moderate to weakly saturated versions of reddish purple, red-purple, purple-red, purplish red, red, orangy red, and reddish orange. The other is the addition of brown/brownish or gray/grayish to the description. As colors transition darker or weaker, they appear more brown or gray. Warm hues (such as yellow, orange, or red) appear browner as they darken or weaken; cool colors (such as blue or green) appear grayer. In each instance, the fancy grades and color descriptions represent a range of color sensations, not a “single” color sensation.

Aurora Green; 5.03ct fancy vivid green diamond sold at Christies for $16.8m

Green Diamond:Green color is caused by exposure to radiation, this natural phenomenon occurs when diamonds come in close contact with radioactive uranium from rocks near earth surface. In rare cases radiation can be found in groundwater sources. Research shows green diamonds are more common in alluvial deposits because diamonds transported to sources of radiation which is more likely than for radiation to exist near a kimberlite source of diamond.

In fancy color diamonds, clarity is not a determining  factor in value. Even diamonds with many inclusions that result in a low clarity grade are sought after by collectors as long as they display an attractive color face-up. Inclusions that can threaten the durability of diamond would lower the value significantly.

Size and shape are two aspects that can influence the color, larger diamonds usually have deeper pavilion that facilitates the farther light can travel in it. This can often lead to a richer, more intense color. The style of cut can also play a key factor in color. Usually mixed cuts like the radiant cut can intensify the color in diamonds and radiant  cut provides (including majority of fancy cuts) provides higher yield from the rough than a standard round brilliant.

For more information on fancy color diamonds, download GIA Colored Diamonds Color Reference chart booklet.

Now lets get into diamond grading, there are many laboratories who offer diamond grading worldwide, here are to name a few of the ones that are most heard of:

GIA (Gemological Institute of America)

HRD Antwerp

AGS (American Gem Society)

EGL (European Gemological Laboratory)

IGI (International Gemological Institute)

I am not going to get into details of how these labs work in grading stones but GIA has the highest consistency and standard in grading, therefore is the most reputable and trusted laboratory following by HRD Antwerp.

Now back to grading itself, after diamonds are mined and sort through the sorting system, they are offered in tenders by mining companies for buyers to offer the best price in acquiring a rough diamond. After acquiring the rough, it goes to different manufacturing facilities from Israel to India, Russia, UAE and many more countries. After planning, cut and polish the polished diamond is send off to a diamond grading laboratory to receive its certificate, having the certificate number is laser inscribed on the girdle of diamond for future tracking. All certificate numbers can be looked up on laboratories websites.

4Cs: the 4Cs of diamond quality is the universal method for assessing the quality of any diamonds, created by GIA

4Cs of Diamond Quality by GIA

Color: in diamonds, diamond color means lack of color; absence of color in a diamond makes it a gem quality diamond. A chemically pure and structurally perfect diamond has no hue. GIA D-Z color grading system measures the degree colorlessness by comparing the diamond under controlled lighting and precise viewing condition to master stones of established color value. Many of the color distinctions are so subtle that are invisible to naked (untrained) eye but those distinctions can have a very large impact on the quality and therefor the price.

GIA D-Z Color Scale

Colorless D-E-F

Near Colorless G-H-I-J

Faint K-L-M

Very Light N-O-P-Q-R

Light S-T-U-V-W-X-Y-Z

Clarity: Diamond clarity refers to absence of inclusions and blemishes. during formation of diamond a variety of internal characteristics called ‘inclusions’ and external characteristics called ‘blemishes’ occur in a diamond.

To evaluate diamond clarity, first we need to determine the number, size, relief, nature, and position of these characteristics, as well as how these affect the overall appearance of the stone. The closer a diamond comes to perfectly pure (absolute absence of inclusions and blemishes), the higher its value.

GIA Clarity Scale

GIA Clarity Scale has 6 categories, with some divided in total there are 11 specific grades:

• Flawless (FL) No inclusions and no blemishes visible under 10x magnification
• Internally Flawless (IF) No inclusions visible under 10x magnification
• Very, Very Slightly Included (VVS₁ and VVS₂) Inclusions so slight they are difficult for a skilled grader to see under 10x magnification
• Very Slightly Included (VS₁ and VS₂) Inclusions are observed with effort under 10x magnification, but can be characterized as minor
• Slightly Included (SI₁ and SI₂) Inclusions are noticeable under 10x magnification
• Included (I₁, I₂, and I₃) Inclusions are obvious under 10x magnification which may affect transparency and brilliance

Flawless & Internally Flawless

VVS 1,2 / VS 1,2

SI 1,2 / I 1,2,3

Cut: Diamonds are known for transmitting light and sparkle intensely therefore a diamond’s cut is crucial to the interaction of diamond’s facets and light. Diamond’s cut is the most complex and technically difficult to analyze.  It is pure artistry and workmanship to cut a diamond that its proportions, symmetry and polish deliver the maximum return of light and create desirable visual effects such as:

• Brightness: Internal and external white light reflected from a diamond
• Fire: The scattering of white light into all the colors of the rainbow
• Scintillation: The amount of sparkle a diamond produces, and the pattern of light and dark areas caused by reflections within the diamond

Often a diamond’s cut is mistaken with diamond’s shape but diamond’s cut grade is about how well a diamond’s facets interact with light. 

Diamond CutThe distance from the bottom of the girdle to the culet is the pavilion depth. A pavilion depth that’s too shallow or too deep will allow light to escape from the side of the stone or leak out of the bottom. A well-cut diamond will direct more light through the crown.

Excellent

Very Good

Good

Fair

Poor

Diamond’s cut grade only applies to round brilliant diamond, for the rest if fancy shapes (any shape beside round brilliant is considered a fancy shape) due to their complexity in facets and steps only grading for polish and symmetry is available.

Carat:Diamond carat weight is the measurement of how much a diamond weighs. A metric “carat” is defined as 200 milligrams. Each carat is subdivided into 100 ‘points.’ This allows very precise measurements to the hundredth decimal place.

Diamond Carat Weight

“ALL IMAGES ARE COURTESY OF GIA.edu“