Zimnisky Global Rough Diamond Price Index
The latest Zimnisky Global Rough Diamond Price Index shows that rough prices in 2016 have jumped 12.3% from the beginning of the year.
The index was at its lowest point of the year. Prices jumped in March, then peaked in June. Since then, the index shows a steady, though slow, decrease in price. Since June, rough prices have resembled their level from the end of 2013 and 2014.
Mining business
The mining business is showing a mixed trend: Rio Tinto’s Bunder mine in India will be closed by year’s end, and De Beers’ Snap Lake mine will be flooded by the miner in January 2017 – more than a year after it was placed on “care and maintenance” on the back of lower diamond prices.
Two new mines began operation this year: Stornoway’s Renard diamond mine in Canada, which is set for full production over the next two quarters; and the Gahcho Kue mine in Canada’s Northwest Territories, which has produced 198,000 carats since production started in August 2016.
What is the Zimnisky Index exactly?
The Zimnisky Global Rough Diamond Price Index incorporates price data from rough diamond transactions in the primary market (sales via long-term contract, tender, and auction by commercial miners). The Index value does not directly represent the price of a 1-carat rough diamond, but the percentage change in the average value of a rough diamond transaction relative to the initial Index value, at a given point in time. You can read the full report here.
