Overview of Diamond Industry

The word diamond has been derived from the Greek word “ADAMAS” which in common terminology means indestructible or invincible. This might be a reflection of the nature of the substance diamond which is the hardest natural substance in the world. However, in addition to being the hardest natural substance, it is also the one of the most brittle natural substances of the world. In the present times, the use of this particular substance has increased by leaps and bounds (Shirey et al. 2013). In addition to the economic value which the substance currently possesses it is also used by the various individuals for ornamentation and decoration purposes. It is a reflection of this that diamond is one of the most sought after commodity in the economic world presently and many nations even transact their international business with the other nations of the world using the substances of gold as well as gold as the exchange currency (Smillie 2013). It is a reflection of this that the diamond is currently one of the fastest growing industries in the world and also one of the most profitable ones (Smillie 2013). It is significant to note that the diamond industry forms the backbone of the economic framework of the some of the major nations of the world. This report intends to provide an overview of the diamond and the processes which are associated with the concerned industry.  

Diamond is a transformed form of carbon which has been subject to slow natural reaction under the surface of the earth (Bieri 2016). Therefore, the process of mining is required to collect the crude form of diamond mixed with the other impurities like carbon, graphite, dust and other materials (Bieri 2016). It is significant to note that there are only a handful of diamond mines all over the world with the largest one being the “Argyle diamond mine in Australia” and the scarcity of the compound is generally considered to be one of the main reasons for the demand of this particular compound (Survey 2018). In the opinion of many people most of the natural diamonds are in the age range of “1 billion and 3.5 billion years” and found at an average depth of “150 to 250 kilometers (93 to 155 mi) in the Earth’s mantle” (Survey 2018). There are two kinds of methods which are used for the process of the mining of diamonds, namely the open pit method and the underground method. This particular method of mining involves “removing the layers of sand and rock found just above the kimberlite” (Cape Town Diamond Museum. 2018). It is significant to note that for the purpose of the removal of the surface layer the various miners often take the help of dynamites and other explosive substances in a bid to blast off the surface layer. Once the surface layer is exposed it reveals approximately around “3,000 tonnes of ore” which can then be transported to the various factories or other sites for the extraction as well as the purification of the compound (Cape Town Diamond Museum. 2018).

Processes for Mining and Extracting Diamonds

The undergrounding mining, on the other hand, involves the process of drilling “tunnel through Earth’s crust to the kimberlite pipe” (Cape Town Diamond Museum. 2018). It is significant to note that this particular method of mining involves the drilling of two layers of tunnels, namely the primary and the secondary layers (Cape Town Diamond Museum. 2018). The primary layer is formed by blasting the surface layer of the earth’s crust just like the method of the open pit mining. The ore which is extracted in this particular layer gets collected in the second layer and from here the ore is taken to the surface of the earth from where it is sent to the various factories and other places where diamond is extracted from the ore (Cape Town Diamond Museum. 2018). It is significant to note that this particular style of mining the diamonds involves a lot of risk and every year thousands of workers end up losing their lives during the process of the mining of diamonds using this particular method (Matthysen, Clarkson and International Peace Information Service (Antwerp), 2013).

The mining companies are the business organizations which take the onus on themselves to mine the diamonds from below the surface of the earth and also help in the process of the extraction of the diamond from the ore (Yakovleva 2017). It is significant to note that there are various diamond mining companies in the world which are operational in diverse parts of the world.  

The above given figure clearly indicates that the largest mining company in the United Kingdom is Clencore in terms of the net revenue which it generates every year. It is significant go note that there are no major diamond mines in the land of the United Kingdom and thus they have to depend on the resources of the other nations of the world particular South Africa and the countries of the South Africa (Yakovleva 2017). It is a reflection of this that the major mining companies of the nation of the United Kingdom has collaborations with the mining companies of the other nations of the world. A significant example of this is the BlueRock Diamonds plc which is popularly known by the name of “BlueRock” is a United Kingdom company that has “its operations based in Kimberley in the Northern Cape region of South Africa.  BlueRock’s shares are traded on the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange (BRD:LN)” (Bluerockdiamonds.co.uk. 2018). Furthermore, the company is “a leading operator of medium size kimberlite assets in South Africa and other parts of Sub-Saharan Africa” (Bluerockdiamonds.co.uk. 2018). In addition to this, the company “Gem Diamonds” is another one which has made significant inroads in the mining industry in the recent times. The company uses the mines of the nations of “Lesotho and Botswana” (Gemdiamonds.com 2018). However, the head quarter of this particular company is located in the “London and Sales, Marketing and Manufacturing capabilities in Antwerp, Belgium” (Gemdiamonds.com 2018). Moreover, in addition to these there are other major mining companies in the land of the United Kingdom as well which take the help of the process of collaboration for the conduct of their business operations. 

Major Diamond Mining Companies

The diamonds which are extracted from the ores as well as from the various mines are very crude in form and structure. Therefore, the various business organizations involved in the process of diamond often had to take the help of the processes of cutting as well as polishing to render the crude diamonds the forms which is agreeable with the various customers and also fulfills the requirements of the international market (Winston 2016). In the opinion of many people, “diamond cutting is the practice of changing a diamond from a rough stone into a faceted gem”(Winston 2016). Furthermore, it is significant to note that the first associated related to the cutting as well as the polishing of the diamonds was formed in the year “1375 in Nuremberg, German” (Sherman 2014). This guild has generally been given the credit of developing the techniques which are used for the cutting as well as the polishing of the various forms of diamonds. There are various nations as well as cities in the world which specializes in the process of the cutting as well as the polishing of the diamonds namely the “Antwerp, Tel Aviv, and Dubai” (Sherman 2014). In addition to this, the nation of “India in recent years has held between 19–31% of the world market in polished diamonds and China has held 17% of the world market share in a recent year” (Sherman 2014). The processes of the cutting as well as the polishing of diamonds are often taken help of in a bid to enhance not the value of the diamond but also the quality of the diamond. It is significant to note that the various business organizations operational in the industry related to the diamond often take the help of the latest innovations as well as technology in a bid to enhance the quality of the diamond (Mitchell 2012).

The increasing demand of the natural diamonds in the market has given rise to the need for creating more diamonds in a bit to cater to the needs and the requirements of the customers in a most effective manner. Therefore, in the recent times the various business organizations often take the help of artificial means to produce more diamonds. These diamonds can be easily distinguished from the color or the texture of the diamonds (Mitchell 2012). The manufacture of the diamonds with the help of the artificial means is a complex process and often requires the help of complex reactions and chemical conditions in a bid to achieve the condition requires for the manufacture of the article diamond. The artificial manufacture of diamond involves two stages-the first stage “involves large presses that can weigh hundreds of tons to produce a pressure of 5 GPa at 1500 °C” whereas the second stage involves “using chemical vapor deposition (CVD), creates a carbon plasma over a substrate onto which the carbon atoms deposit to form diamond” (Smillie 2016). 

The Diamond Cutting and Polishing Industry

The international market has been on the rise because of the increasing focus of the customers to procure these precious stones. It is a reflection of this that the various nations have privately owned as well as governmental organizations for the transaction of the diamond trade. Thus, the various nations of the world like the United Kingdom, the United States of America, South Africa and others have emerged as one of the leading countries for the international diamond trade (Sherman 2014). Furthermore, in addition to these, the various third world nations of the world like India, China and others have also in the recent times emerged as the leading diamond markets of the world (Sherman 2014).

It is significant to note that the present diamond industry uses various distribution channels in a bid to facilitate the process of trade and commerce in the concerned industry. Thus, the various business organizations in a bid to enhance their annual profit margins often take the help of the various distribution channels. Diamond exchange is another important part of the business process of the business organizations belonging to the diamond industry (Mitchell 2012). It is through this particular process the value as well as the quality of the diamonds is determined. Furthermore, this particular process also helps the various nations to conduct trade using the various forms of diamonds.   

Conclusion 

To conclude, the international diamond business is one of the fastest growing industries of the world. The industry also contributes a significant amount of capital towards the national economies of the various nations of the world. However, there are several factors which the industry needs to take into consideration for the extraction as well as the processing of the raw diamond extracted from the various diamond mines. In addition to that, the emergence of the various kinds of artificial or synthetic diamonds has contributed much to the industry concerned. 

References

Bieri, F., 2016. From blood diamonds to the Kimberley Process: How NGOs cleaned up the global diamond industry. Routledge.

Bluerockdiamonds.co.uk. 2018. BlueRock | BlueRock Home. [online] Available at: https://www.bluerockdiamonds.co.uk/ [Accessed 11 Apr. 2018].

Cape Town Diamond Museum. 2018. Diamond Mining Methods | Diamond Museum Cape Town. [online] Available at: https://www.capetowndiamondmuseum.org/about-diamonds/diamond-mining/ [Accessed 11 Apr. 2018].

Diamonds, G. 2018. Gem Diamonds | Home. [online] Gemdiamonds.com. Available at: https://www.gemdiamonds.com/ [Accessed 11 Apr. 2018].

Matthysen, K., Clarkson, I. and International Peace Information Service (Antwerp), 2013. Gold and Diamonds in the Central African Republic: The Country’s Mining Sector, and Related Social, Economic and Environmental Issues. International Peace Information Service.

Mitchell, R.H., 2012. Diamonds and their source rocks in India. GSI Publications, 7(1).

Sherman, A., 2014. Synthetic Diamonds: Opportunity or Problem?. Buyers Intelligence Group, https://www. diamonds. net/Docs/Synthetics/Sinthetics. pdf.

Shirey, S.B., Cartigny, P., Frost, D.J., Keshav, S., Nestola, F., Nimis, P., Pearson, D.G., Sobolev, N.V. and Walter, M.J., 2013. Diamonds and the geology of mantle carbon. Reviews in Mineralogy and Geochemistry, 75(1), pp.355-421.

Smillie, I., 2013. Blood diamonds and non-state actors. Vand. J. Transnat’l L., 46, p.1003.

Smillie, I., 2016. Blood diamonds: Canada, Africa and some object lessons in global governance. Canada–Africa Relations: Looking Back, Looking Ahead.

Survey, B. 2018. External links: mining | MineralsUK. [online] Bgs.ac.uk. Available at: https://www.bgs.ac.uk/mineralsUK/links/mining.html [Accessed 11 Apr. 2018].

Winston, A., 2016. Luxury brands can no longer ignore sustainability. Harvard Business Review, pp.1-3.

Yakovleva, N., 2017. Corporate social responsibility in the mining industries. Routledge